Woods Strategy Advisors ← Back to woodsstrategy.org
Product Concept Studio

Most credit union products were designed for the rate sheet.

The industry has mistaken competitive rates and bundled features for product innovation. The result is a market full of functionally identical accounts nobody talks about, nobody remembers, and nobody switches for.

This studio is the other way of working. Build a deposit concept around something your members actually do, or put your own idea through the Four Tests and see what it earns.

Clear strategy. Practical innovation. Measurable impact.
01
Who do you serve?
Pick the group that anchors your field of membership.
02
What are you chasing in 2027?
One priority. The mechanic changes depending on the answer.
03
Where should I address it?
Optional. Used only to write the concept in your name.
Answer the first two questions.
The concept

The behavior nobody is banking

Capped generosity
APY
How it works

What it costs, at your size
500 Slide to your institution's realistic uptake, from a pilot branch to a full campaign.
$2,000 The cap is your risk appetite. Raise it and the headline gets stronger, the cost scales with it, and the worst case stays a number you chose.
Dividend cost per funded account
Total campaign cost at 500 accounts
Deposits placed at 500 accounts

Why this one clears the bar

    The part that needs work

    01
    Say it in one sentence.
    This is the Explainable test, and it starts now. If the product doesn't fit in a sentence a member would repeat, that's a finding, not a formatting problem.
    0 / 140 for full marks
    02
    What moment does it attach to?
    The Timely test. Products built on member moments get repeated. Products built on internal goals get ignored.
    03
    What does it run on?
    The Launchable test. The distance between a concept and a launch is measured in core tickets.
    04
    Do you know the maximum it can cost?
    The Capped test. A CFO approves a known number in one meeting and an open-ended one in none.
    Write the sentence and answer all three questions.
    The scorecard
    Four Tests

    What would raise the grade

    That's the architecture. The build is the engagement.

    A concept sketch or a grade is a starting point. Getting a distinctive product through economics, compliance review, the core, and a board without losing what made it distinctive is the actual work. That part I do with you.

    One email with the written brief. No sequence, no drip, no list rental.

    Product diagnostic

    Half-day working session on one concept, ending in a go or no-go you can take to the exec team.

    $4,500
    Product sprint

    Concept, economics, the question inventory for your counsel, member journey, and launch plan.

    $15,000
    Product studio

    An ongoing pipeline with a new concept each quarter, instead of a full-time seat you can't justify.

    $6,500 / month