By Jeanie Richardson
Credit unions have never faced a more challenging time appealing to and attracting potential members to their institutions. From new market entrants to consolidations, credit unions live in an ever-increasingly competitive market – especially with newer generations having less brand loyalty. In fact, a Viacom report found that “one in three Millennials in the United States are open to switching banks in the next 90 days and a similar proportion believe they will not even need a bank in the future.”
This trend does not look to be tapering off any time soon. However, credit unions can use Millennials’ lack of brand loyalty as an opportunity to pull away one of the largest generations from other financial institutions. How so? By implementing strategies that are solely aimed at differentiating their institutions. Let’s break it down:
Implement Innovative Technology
In the 21stcentury, fintech has seen a heavy influx of funding to allow for new innovations, such as blockchain and digital banking. According to KPMG, “global fintech investment doubled to $111.8 billion in 2018.” Credit unions must be on the front lines of implementing cutting-edge technologies as they are developed to appeal to consumers’ dynamic needs. As such, institution leaders need to be hyper aware of technological trends and position their credit unions’ organizational structure to accommodate potentially revolutionary technologies.
Utilize Social Media
Credit unions should seek out new, fresh ways to utilize social media to keep members informed about relevant issues as well as to build awareness amongst prospective members. Specifically, credit unions can use different social media platforms to target different demographic groups. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, Instagram and Snapchat are used by 67% and 62% of 18-29-year-olds, respectively. This is just one of many clear social media trends that illuminate paths of communication credit unions can effectively employ to appeal to specific target audiences.
Leverage Data and Analytics
In the digital age, credit unions must leverage data and analytics to optimize their members’ experience. Surprisingly, many financial services institutions have failed to answer the call to use data and analytics as a foundation for guiding their decision-making processes. A PwC survey found that “only 37% of financial services respondents said that internal data and analytics will drive their next big decision.”
This presents a tremendous opportunity for credit unions to get to the bottom of what drives consumers and implement analytics-driven policies that fulfill informedneeds.
Never Been More Vital
As competition in the financial industry continues to increase, it has never been more vital that credit unions tactically differentiate their services and offerings. Leaders must keep a keen eye on technological trends and their institution’s ability to integrate new systems into their credit union.
Credit unions must also utilize different social media platforms to communicate targeted messages that resonate with different demographic groups. Lastly, credit unions have to use analytics and data to guide their decision-making process when seeking to optimize their members’ institutional experience.
Remember – the pace of change in our industry will never again be as slow as it is today, and therefore, the need to continuously evolve and differentiate has never been greater.
Jeanie Richardson, Director of Data Management at EPL, Inc. For info: www.eplinc.com