Today, it’s absolutely crucial that financial institutions grow and retain their loyal member bases as much as possible. In a world of intensified competition and increasingly elaborate and complex digital service experiences, this can feel like a moving goalpost, particularly for smaller organizations with fewer resources for developing, purchasing, or implementing these digital platforms.
Maintaining a positive member experience online is a key factor in retaining membership. Zendesk’s CX Trends 2024 report shows that more than half of consumers will switch to a new business after just one bad experience. It’s easier than ever to switch your financial institution now, so if given the opportunity, many members will jump at the chance.
Taking a look at some of the trends affecting the way credit unions look at digital member service, we can identify some key strategies for ensuring a successful member service experience that keeps your loyal members by your side.
Trends in digital member service
Digital service is an increasingly important factor in whether or not a member will stay loyal to their credit union, but many organizations are falling behind. Chuck Fagan, CEO of PSCU, stated that one major roadblock to credit union member loyalty was their tendency to be ‘digital laggards’, with 37% of credit unions identifying themselves as such. Failing to innovate digitally and trailing behind other organizations will have once loyal members looking into more cutting-edge options.
Younger generations are becoming increasingly interested in credit unions. The Financial Brand demonstrates that Gen Z and Millennials are growing as an audience for credit unions’ services, and attracting a younger generation can be a longevity strategy for credit unions with a high percentage of members near or over retirement age.
These tech-savvy generations, who currently are on the receiving end of a generational wealth transfer, are on the hunt for the kinds of personalized service that credit unions are known for, but may quickly take their money elsewhere if not given the standard of digital service excellence they get everywhere else. If Amazon or Netflix can do it, why not my credit union?
Personalization is a big factor that is increasing in the desires of credit union members; they want to be able to get the kind of help that already knows what they need, and takes their preferences into account. A 2021 study by Capco showed that 72% of financial services customers rated personalized service as ‘highly important’ to their satisfaction.
And of course, what article about digital service trends would be complete without mentioning AI? David Tomljenovic, principal research director of Info-Tech Research Group, explains that “Small banks and credit unions must keep pace with the broader adoption of AI throughout the financial services industry or jeopardize their long-term viability.” Consumers are accepting AI more and more into their lives, and credit unions have to keep up or risk being one step behind in the digital space compared to others.
Proven strategies for better digital member service
Taking these above trends into consideration, there are ways that you can take advantage of new developing technologies that ensure your business is delivering on the digital service experience that your members expect:
Provide many channel options
Don’t force members who are already on your website to call a 1-800 number if they want to reach out for support. Members like having the freedom to reach out in the ways that they’re most comfortable with. For many, this means having options like online chat and SMS available to members at all times, so they can get in touch with you in any way they prefer.
There are also ways you can ensure that when a user needs to change to a new communication channel, it happens in a seamless way. No need to get back in line and re-explain yourself, making the experience much simpler and easier for both members and agents. Your members value this kind of seamless experience that avoids the siloed, disconnected approach of the past. Members also engage with you with different types of needs, so ensure to offer all the types of channels needed to support all the types of needs.
Give staff the tools to personalize service
There are plenty of ways that you can arm your employees with the tools needed to avoid service interactions feeling impersonal. Allowing for personalized greetings, and implementing business rules or automated routing ensures that the representative always knows what it is the member needs.
There’s even the possibility of live observation, giving employees the ability to see the browsing activity of members on your digital channels and reach out with proactive service. This also allows agents to visually guide a member through your online property, which creates a much more connected service experience.
Embrace AI, but safely
While it’s tempting to leap on the first AI solution that comes your way to ensure you’re on the fast track to innovation, it’s equally important to make sure the solution you choose will really help your credit union. Some solutions just aren’t built for the needs of credit unions, posing safety and security risks that can wind up damaging member loyalty and trust.
You will want to prioritize finding a solution that’s purpose-built for credit unions, one with a proven track record of success and will let you hit the ground running with instant results and see efficiency gains as soon as you deploy it. Smaller credit unions likely won’t have the time or resources to train AI models from the ground up, so seek out pre-built solutions that will allow you to skip the lengthy process of creating AI from scratch.
Finding a partner who specializes in credit unions is also important because they believe in the credit union movement and are actively working to help close that technology parity gap, making AI accessible to all credit unions, regardless of size. They do this by making it accessible financially but also in the deployment method, so it requires fewer in-house resources to leverage AI.
Turn members into lifelong fans
To avoid becoming one of the ‘digital laggards’ Fagan has warned about, credit unions need to ensure they’re continuously innovating their digital solutions. Members are increasingly expecting seamless, personalized, and even AI-driven service. A positive member experience is critical for ensuring member loyalty and even attracting new members, turning one-time visitors into members, and members into lifelong fans.
