PORTLAND, Ore.—Credit unions need to use video more often in e-statements and also pay attention to how those electronic statements are being presented on mobile device screens.
Communications and marketing experts from mCritical spoke with CUToday.info about some important communications practices CUs should be following, and stressed that statements—both paper and electronic—still play important roles for the credit union.
“Statements, both electronic and paper depending on the demographic, still have an impact on members,” said mCritical CEO Brad Barton. “But keys to both are how you properly present and use them.”
Onserts, specialized ads, work well as a clickable link within e-statements, said Barton.
“The onsert content can vary based on the demographic targeted,” he said. “For younger members that might mean a college savings plan. For older members, saving for retirement.”
Set Video To Autoplay
Barton said use of video with e-statements is growing.
“It’s proving to be a very effective communications tool,” he said. “What really works best is to have the video set to autoplay when the e-statement opens. That’s very important. People are impatient today, and if the video does not play right away, or they have to click on a link, they will likely move on.”
Joe Glynn, solutions partner, credit unions, said the use of video in e-statements is still in its early stages. But he said credit unions appear to be lagging behind banks in use of the communication tool.
“I believe they are a bit behind banks for a couple reasons,” said Glynn. “First, many are simply not considering using video in e-statements, and those that are often don’t understand how to properly use the technology and are therefore staying away from it.”
Glynn believes using a video message in an e-statement is effective because members see someone speaking to them as opposed to a printed piece.
“You need the CEO to deliver an important message? Video is the way—much more impactful than a newsletter story,” Glynn said. “We also have seen video messages work well for community outreach efforts.”
Adapt To Screen
When communicating to mobile devices it’s imperative that the information adapts to the mobile device screen size. Glynn said that credit unions are taking this into consideration with their website data, but must do the same with electronic statements.
“The e-statement should not be a PDF, as that is static and won’t always fit the mobile device screen well,” said Glynn. “But our technology makes the statement repurpose to fit the viewing screen, making the statement much more user friendly and easy to read.”
Other tips for paper, e-statements and text messages:
- “The look of the paper and the e-statement need to match,” said Barton. “It makes it easier for the customer service team to respond when a member calls in with a question about their statement and it also keeps the brand messaging consistent.”
- “Keep the communications fairly simple, limit the colors and use larger font sizes, especially if you have a lot of older members,” Barton said.
- Bilateral text messages are an important part of the communications workflow because 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt.