Is your credit union firmly in your member's "friend zone"? Are you tired of playing second fiddle to their main financial institution? You know you have more to offer than some big, impersonal institution. You offer personal attention and care that they deserve. And you deserve to have the member relationship you've always wanted! It's time to do some peacocking and step up your game. Show potential members you can give them everything their bank can and more. Here are five tips to get your new members to commit to this monogamous financial relationship during account opening.
- Give them all you've got. If you run an introductory credit report, pay attention to the details and leverage cross-selling tools. Look for all the opportunities where your credit union can have a positive impact and call them to attention. If you don't pull credit, have an open dialogue about the member's other financial institutions and loans. You know you've got the goods, so show them!
- Show off your figure. You can tell them about how good your member services are but put some actual figures and numbers behind it. Offer quantitative value to the member on how much you can save them or rewards they might earn by bringing over loans/savings. Provide anecdotes of other members and the benefits of being a member of your credit union.
- Make the breakup easy. Cutting ties with their current institution can be daunting, maybe even a turn off. Breaking up isn't hard to do anymore. With companies like ClickSWITCH, a unique customer acquisition technology that automates, streamlines and simplifies the process of onboarding new accounts to your credit union, the transition is easy. By having the ability to quickly, safely and efficiently switch account holders recurring payments from their old accounts to new ones, there are no hurt feelings and being stuck in the past. You can facilitate the account transfer process with ease.
- Sell the culture of convenience. Time and time again, the importance of the credit union difference is stressed to you as a credit union executive and should be conveyed to your members. They are not customers... they have a common stake in the success of your credit union. When they witness investments in technology that directly impact the ease and convenience of working with you, not just initially but in all aspects of their experience, they are more apt to buy into more products. For example, witnessing the ease of your digital lending solutions will lead them into meeting their other lending needs, from HELOCs and Mortgages to auto loans, done seamlessly and remotely!
- Shower them with kisses. Reward & incentivize them often. Reward sticky products like checking accounts, direct deposit, Bill Pay and credit cards in unique and useful ways. Question whether or not reward programs are relevant anymore? Consider these stats:
- 71% of consumers who are members of loyalty programs say membership is a meaningful part of their relationships with brands
- 70% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand with a good loyalty program
- 77% of consumers say loyalty programs make them more likely to stay with brands
And lest you be concerned that this brand loyalty only pertains to older members, Millennials are members in an average of 6.5 loyalty programs, higher than the overall average of 6.2 programs, and 55% of them say that some type of reward card would keep them most engaged, compared to 47% of baby boomers.
The fight to be your members' primary financial institution is one of the biggest challenges you face. With fierce competition, consumers are growing more and more comfortable having multiple relationships. Step up your game to become their primary FI, and remain their main squeeze for life.
