HONOLULU–The digital “branch” deserves every bit of a credit union’s attention, according to one person, who also spoke to three “myths” he said need to be burst.
“For many of you your digital branch is probably one of your most profitable branches,” said Steve Nigri, VP-sales with Geezeo.
In remarks to NAFCU’s annual meeting here, Nigri pointed to research across financial institution types as indicating the number-one priority is cross-sales and deepening relationships.
“To understand digital members, it’s all about data, data, data,” said Nigri. “The data in your products tell you what your digital members are doing. You can learn about how they take care of their families, how much they spend on their mortgage, how much they spend on groceries. What we know about credit union members is they want to do more business with their credit unions. So, we have to match their want with what you can do.”
To fully leverage data and the digital member, Nigri addressed three “myths”:
Myth 1: We Don’t Have All The Data in One Place
“I know you say the data isn’t in one place. I would challenge you to start with the small bits,” said Nigri. “Big data is tough. You have to break it down. So, take a little piece of that data and start there and ask, ‘What does this tell us?’”
Who’s already using this data and being successful with it? “BofA and Wells Fargo aren’t the competitors doing great with data,” said Nigri. “It’s Google, RocketMortgage, Apple, Mint, etc.”
Myth 2: Going Digital, We Cannot Provide for Personal Relationships
“What’s great about digital data is you learn all about what the members are doing,” said Nigri. “Life events are what drive your members to loans, and the more you can learn about their life events and life activities, the more success you will have with them.”
Myth 3. With My Limited Marketing Budget, I Can’t Compete
“I hear some people say, ‘We just have one marketing person, so we’re just going to stick with our newsletter.’ Do you know your return on your newsletter? No. Let’s not get stuck with what we’ve done and what we’re comfortable with. Digital takes it to the new level. Target marketing can be really successful. You are only speaking to the members who quality for a credit card, for instance. And I know we have a better offer for those people.”
When it comes to digital marketing, especially on credit cards, Nigri urged credit unions to skip talking about rate. “Most people don’t even know their rate. But they know rewards.”