Engaging Members in a Post-Pandemic World

All our lives have changed considerably since COVID-19 upended the world, and that includes the lives of your members. Today, consumers are in different financial situations than before the pandemic. Over the past year, some have saved more than previously, while others have reduced or lost their earnings. Everything you think you know about their needs post-COVID could be wrong. So, your strategy and the conversations you have with your members must adjust. Your conversations need to be personalized and empathetic, address where they are today, focus on their financial wellness and demonstrate how you can meet their individual financial needs.

Now that vaccines are widely available and lockdowns are ending, credit unions need to foresee how their members’ behavior will evolve moving forward. Understanding the effect that digital adoption will have on in-person banking is essential. The EY Future Consumer Index, which tracks how the pandemic affects consumer behavior, revealed that 43% of respondents said they changed the way they bank since COVID. Conversely, just 16% of respondents stated the way they bank would change over the long term.

While credit unions have always had a pulse on their members, these results show the importance of finding out where members are today and their current needs. To understand members’ wants and needs, it is essential to have meaningful conversations, and ask the right questions respectfully and empathetically to successfully support members’ financial wellness.

Member Preferences

Members’ priorities and preferences are certainly fluctuating in this post-COVID world. Although they may seem the same as they were over the last several years, a closer look reveals they are slightly different. Members are looking for additional payment options, more personalization and a trusting partnership from their credit union.

More Payment Options

Cash may still be king, but it is declining. Some retail outlets no longer accept it, and there are often faster checkout processes at stores for debit and credit cards. The pandemic turbocharged online shopping and prompted consumers to use credit cards, debit cards and online payments for their necessities. During the pandemic, Mastercard reported that 79% of respondents worldwide said they were using contactless payments, citing safety and cleanliness as key drivers, and 74% said they would continue to use contactless after the pandemic. Post-pandemic, offering members more contactless payment options will be essential.

More Personalization

Members are demanding easy account openings and recommending products and services relevant to them in their current circumstances. Additionally, personalized engagement is a top priority. Global research from Salesforce uncovered that 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. And it is no longer a nice-to-have; 52% of customers expect offers always to be personalized, according to the research. After spending all that time at home this past year, shopping online with Amazon and streaming content on Netflix, people have become accustomed to positive, personalized experiences and now expect personalization in all of their digital engagements.

Trusted Partnership

A study by Morning Consult found that roughly two in five U.S. adults selected the financial industry as a sector in which trust is most important to them. This past year has been stressful in so many ways. And that stress has triggered a need for people to feel more secure. They are looking for guidance from trusted partners on creating financial wellness. Credit unions are uniquely positioned to offer insight and meaningful engagement. They can build trusting relationships, inspire hope and enable consumers to take small steps to create a plan for financial wellness.

Engaging Members With Meaningful Conversations

The Harvard Business Review identified five key strategies, referred to as the HEART framework, to help companies balance the tension created by the need to generate sales during extreme economic hardship while still respecting the challenges and new priorities being experienced by consumers. The ultimate goal is to support consumers and provide new value that might be required. Consider these guidelines on what to say – and what not to say – during times of sustained crisis communication:

• Humanize your company
• Educate about change
• Assure stability
• Revolutionize offerings
• Tackle the future

Credit unions need to update internal sales playbooks to ensure staff are asking the right questions to stay relevant. Many financial institutions are implementing chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) to initiate customer engagement, which are useful in modernizing the customer experience but have their limitations. For instance, a chatbot can answer questions on what the process is for a lost credit card.  But it cannot offer a recommendation on the best-fit loan based on income and other individual circumstances. So, while chatbots can engage consumers, they do not further relationships or offer much personalization.

Here are four ways to re-engage with members in a post-COVID world:

1. Express empathy and understanding. The pandemic impacted everyone, including your staff, so they can certainly relate to situations your members are experiencing. Ensure your team members are empathetic listeners – a vital skill to have in challenging times.

2. Reinforce social commitment. The pandemic has highlighted inequities in society. Take the time to showcase how you support your local community, social and gender equality, and environmental issues. People prefer to do business with organizations that have strong values and support community issues.

3. Personalize the conversation. Personalization is more than just using a member’s name. It is essential to tailor the entire experience and engage the member, as it helps build relationships and trust. Leveraging analytics allows you to offer personalized insight for a path to financial wellness. Sparking a personalized conversation can be a true differentiator.

4. Update language accordingly. It is essential to modify pre-COVID language to reflect current concerns and needs. Consumers’ anxiety about finances heightened during the pandemic.  Guided conversations allow staff to ask questions about what has been happening over the pandemic with members to understand new needs, which will ultimately enable you to provide accurate recommendations to address their unique requirements.

Adapting and starting meaningful conversations will show your members that you care and understand that things may have changed for them, and that you are there to help.

Whitney Loe is Director of Business Development for Credit Unions for Ignite Sales, Inc., a customer engagement technology provider based in Dallas, Texas.