I Heart My FI: How Much Do Your Members Love You?

The digital revolution is transforming how people live their lives – and certainly how they interact with their financial institutions. These major shifts present opportunities as well as challenges.

In my role as an evangelist for the future of banking, I’ve been blessed to meet many visionary leaders who see how they can harness technology to connect with their members like never before. They are always looking for new and creative ways to improve the customer experience because they know it is the best long-term strategy.

“Our vision over time is to be the most loved and respected financial partner,” Coastal Federal Credit Union President/CEO Chuck Purvis declared earlier this year.

‘Loved?’ What’s Love Got to Do With Banking?

If you want to survive and thrive in an industry that’s ripe for massive disruption, love is everything. Or as the philosopher John Lennon penned, love is all you need. So how do you build a financial institution your members don’t just tolerate but love every bit as much as their favorite restaurants, coffee shops, day spas and golf courses?

You do it the old-fashioned way: Brick by brick. Only it’s the internet age, so you replace the physical bricks with digital ones. Every transaction, every conversation, every relationship you foster with your members represents a new brick or building block that enables you to construct a brighter future. A future in which your financial institution is not just endured; it is loved.

How to Make Your Members Love You

When customers say they love a particular business, what they usually mean is they love the experience. For instance, some people prefer to buy books on Amazon, but they still frequent the Barnes and Noble Café. They love to dunk fresh cinnamon scones in spicy chai tea – an experience that Amazon’s website can’t quite duplicate. Likewise, Uber has created an experience that eclipses the one that traditional cab companies provide. Uber’s customers love to quickly and efficiently summon drivers with their smartphones.

As a financial institution, how can you deliver an experience that your members love?

One way is to maintain your personal touch while many banks and credit unions are losing theirs. Artificial intelligence, automation and real-time data insights are already playing an important role in the future of banking. But many members still want to feel connected to their financial institutions. Financial products often involve abstract, even scary decisions. For members, the simple “experience” of working one-on-one with experts at their financial institutions gives them the confidence to move forward. Without it, many will have lingering doubts or just abandon the process altogether. There will always be times when customers want to interact with a teller or loan officer one-on-one – it’s your job to make every possible touchpoint, whether inside the branch or not, an enjoyable experience.

As technology has advanced, so has our ability to meet customers (one-on-one) on their own terms. Among the industry’s first great forays into the world of self-service, Interactive Teller Machines are being increasingly utilized to provide the anytime, anywhere convenience consumers expect while maintaining the ability to talk to a real person.

Pioneer Federal Credit Union in Mountain Home, Idaho, recognized this need among its members, too. To preserve the personal touch, Pioneer utilizes mobile video banking to allow members to collaborate with financial representatives face-to-face, straight from their smartphones and tablets. Tracey Miller, Pioneer’s vice president of branch operations, wisely predicted that military members and millennials would embrace the convenience of such technology. But she was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly soccer moms (desperate for stress-free transactions), Spanish speakers (needing multilingual assistance) and the elderly (longing for restored independence) adopted this new channel as well.

Amid even the most dramatic technological advancements, never neglect or underestimate the importance of your physical presence. While branch visits may be declining, 60% of Americans would still rather open a new checking account in person at a bank branch than on a phone, tablet or desktop computer, according to a new survey by Novantas. Are you taking advantage of these opportunities to provide an above-and-beyond experience? These are your moments for making members feel like valued partners, not just digital transactions or data points.

Will You Still Be Relevant in 10 Years?

Wise financial executives, board members, marketing leaders and operations experts are paying close attention to how the digital revolution is changing members’ expectations – and an ever-increasing premium on convenience and experience.

As more and more financial institutions implement digital technology, these channels will become services members expect. Although traditional branches will keep serving as important hubs, retail visits will likely dip further while alternative channels like web and mobile continue to soar. Banks and credit unions that can supplement their physical footprints with digital branches that maintain the personal touch will wow members with experiences they’ll not only love, but keep coming back to for more.

Gene Pranger is CEO and Founder for POPio Mobile Video Cloud. He can be reached at gpranger@genepranger.com.