Unengaged Members Are a Growth Opportunity

Let’s face it – every credit union has the challenge of unengaged members. These may be the members who only join a credit union for great rates on an auto or other type of loan, while keeping their primary checking and savings relationships elsewhere. While it could be easy to just accept them as temporary members and take the interest they’re paying on loans, these members signify a huge opportunity.

The experience you provide matters. Making it a great experience can turn your credit union’s unengaged members into loyal ones.

In addition, there may be other disengaged members who have joined the credit union because the location is convenient or because it’s the same place their parents or family does their banking. With this type of member, the principle is still the same – a great experience has the power to turn indifference into loyalty.

The Importance of Experience

According to Forbes, 73% of consumers say a good experience is key in influencing their brand loyalties. Additionally, 73% of companies with above-average customer experience perform better financially than their competitors. The strong tie between experience, loyalty and your credit union’s ongoing success cannot be ignored.

This tie between experience and loyalty is especially true for younger generations, as a study by Mobiquity found that younger generations are more likely to switch financial institutions in favor of those that offer a better digital experience. In the end, it’s not all about who has the best rates and fees, it’s about the experience and level of service you can provide to go along with that.

Building a Better Payment Experience

For those who are only interacting with your credit union solely to make loan payments, there is an opportunity. You have months – however long the term of the loan is – to win people over. Though you only have limited touchpoints with them, you can still create a great experience.

First, make the payment process fast and simple. Give these members options. Not everyone’s needs are the same and they can change quickly. Provide flexibility with their payment method and the channel they can pay in. Do not limit them to one or two options. Channels like a web browser, mobile device, IVR or even your credit union’s call center gives members options to do what is easiest and most convenient for them. Providing this convenience also demonstrates to the member that their credit union cares about them. Also, enabling recurring or scheduled payments allows the member to pay when it is most convenient for them.

For the other type of unengaged members – the ones who do hold a primary banking relationship with your credit union – payments are still a great option for engaging with them. While not every member will be borrowing money, everyone could have some sort of payments relationship with the credit union, whether it’s bills, P2P transactions or account transfers.

Regardless of the type of payments a member makes, the key for the credit union is to make them as simple and convenient as possible. Beyond offering a diverse array of payment options, make sure each option provides a great experience for members. With bill pay, proactively reach out and help members stay on top of their due dates to help remove some of the stress that comes with monthly bills. For P2P, make sending money hassle-free with an open-loop system that allows members to send money to any recipient, regardless of what platform they may be on.

Anything that makes a member’s life easier shows how the credit union adds value and encourages the member to engage more. This may seem like a huge task to take on, but there is ­technology available that does all the hard work and heavy lifting for the credit union so that it can focus more on building member relationships.

Reach Out

Regardless of the digital payment options you decide to offer, one of the most important elements of engaging members – and the most obvious – is simply to reach out to them. Unfortunately, many credit unions seem to miss this step. A great experience will begin to build loyalty with the credit union, but you still need to proactively reach out to members.

Many times, members are not engaging with the credit union because they are not aware of the value it can provide. Reach out to your members and educate them on all that you offer. Simply by reaching out, you invite them to grow their relationship with the credit union.

Addressing this is where artificial intelligence can be used to help build stronger digital relationships. AI can leverage your members’ existing data to identify opportunities and help you address needs based on where they are in life. Using these insights, you can personalize this outreach and further demonstrate the value your credit union can provide.

The bottom line is not to view unengaged members as a given, but to view them as an opportunity to grow your relationships. Use technology to your advantage to engage more with members and show how your credit union can make their lives easier. Providing value is the first step to building the loyal, trusting relationships every credit union wants.

Mickey Goldwasser Vice President of Marketing & Chief of Staff Payrailz Glastonbury, Conn.