As per one recent study, about 2.5 quintillion new bytes of data are generated every single day. Is a significant portion of that data meaningless digital noise? Certainly—but some of that data is also enormously valuable to credit unions, especially if you know where to look and what to look for.
Contained inside that data is the key to understanding your membership like never before. Who are these people, really? What do they want and what do they need? What do they hate and what do they love? Answering these questions is how you find more (and more effective) cross-selling opportunities to grow your credit union. All you need is the data you already have in order to do it.
Part of the reason why some credit union cross-selling efforts fail is because they're too general. If a member just bought a car, now is probably not the best time to offer them access to a great new auto loan product you have. That need has been met.
You can avoid this issue by segmenting your members into smaller clusters so that you can then target groups of people more precisely. Put people in categories based on certain attributes they share--like location, occupation, age, average amount of money in their combined accounts, and even specific behaviors.
You know that if someone just got approved for a mortgage, you could offer them life insurance, automatic payments, and retirement accounts. If they just opened an account for the first time, you could offer them mobile app services, savings goals, and financial education.
Another study indicated that cross-selling can increase the lifetime value of a member by up to 14%. This intense level of personalization and specificity is part of the reason why.
Touchpoints are the various interactions or points of contact that a member has with your credit union throughout their member journey. These interactions can occur through different channels and platforms, both online and offline.
While email marketing is certainly an effective touchpoint, it isn't the only place where cross-selling can shine. Use your member data to understand where people are spending the most time and lean into those channels to increase the likelihood that they'll see and interact with a certain message.
Some may prefer social media, while others want the web. Some may use email and others are perfectly fine with SMS text messages. Don't just try to cross-sell "anywhere and everywhere." Again, get as specific as you can.
More than anything, remember that cross-selling isn't something that you do once and forget about. Your membership will continue to change over time in terms of what they want, what they need, and even where they are in life. So, the story your credit union's data is telling you today may change six months from now--and that's okay.
What matters is that you stay proactive about uncovering the narrative hidden inside that data and capitalizing on it whenever possible. Always look for new cross-selling opportunities on a regular basis. Make sure that you're holding your own efforts up to the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to you. Once something stops working, either figure out why so that you can correct it or move on to another opportunity.
Don't just use the data to begin your cross-selling journey--allow the data to steer you toward success. That's precisely why organizations that use cross-selling techniques see a 20% increase in sales compared to those that don't.
If you're eager to explore cross-selling opportunities and wish to dive deeper into your credit union's unique needs, contact the team at FLEX today. And for even more valuable insights, don't forget to check out our comprehensive Cross-Selling eGuide—it's a must-read for any credit union aiming to maximize their potential.