Delivering a consistent and seamless experience to members across all channels of their banking with your credit union is at the heart of omnichannel banking. Credit unions, however, need to look beyond just ensuring the ATM, branch, internet banking and mobile banking experiences have a consistent look, feel, brand and focus. The future of omnichannel banking will merge these channels in unique ways to give the member what they need... before they even know they need it.
Consider this scenario that is closer to reality than your credit union may have dreamed. A member of yours falls in love with a new sports car he saw at the auto show. He researches auto loans on your mobile banking app, but is still not ready to make a buying decision. Later the next day he logs into internet banking to pay some bills and is delivered a targeted advertisement with some auto loan promotion you are running. A few days later, he visits your branch to take money out of the ATM for the weekend. The employee at the branch is sent an alert to this member's presence in the branch due to his ATM usage, or perhaps even the face recognition software the branch uses. In the alert to the credit union employee, a message appears of the member's recent activity, including researching auto loans. You now have an incredibly qualified lead for your auto loan product!
Does this seem too futuristic? It shouldn't. The technology is there. Perhaps the budgeting is not yet within reach for many credit unions, but some experts predict this type of omnichannel banking will be commonplace by 2017.
Jim Marous of The Financial Brand states that credit unions are "in an unequaled position to understand their customers. They already can see product use, transaction patterns and demographic profiles. By leveraging channel usage insight, they can develop an even more detailed customer profile. Understanding not only what the customer looks like, but also how they conduct their banking can allow for improved product offers using their preferred channel."
In other words, credit unions can deliver the right product at the right time, knowing the consumer sometimes better than they know themselves! Developing strategies that integrate the digital and physical channels into a single, seamless experience has to be a priority, especially when conducting a core system review and allocating budget to marketing and product development. By analyzing the activity and preferences of their members, credit unions can tailor offerings to the individual member.
The key is to set the groundwork correctly within your infrastructure to enable this type of banking when it becomes within reach. Having the foresight to develop fully integrated apps within your credit union core technology, and to work with a core provider that embraces the challenges of new technology, will make you an industry leader and give you the competitive edge.
