By Rhiannon Stone
Looking ahead to 2018 and beyond, credit unions must continue to explore new ways in which to analyze member behavior and internal processes in order to create efficiencies and drive growth.
Using the data your credit union already has is a powerful way to gain key insights that influence strategic business decisions and enable you to provide members with timely and targeted product and service offerings. Given the rate of consolidation within our industry, it is more important than ever to utilize emerging resources that leverage data, such as business intelligence software, to set your credit union apart from the competition.
Here are several ways in which business intelligence software can be put to good use:
Internal process automation. Streamlining your credit union’s processes allows staff to focus on what should be their main priority – members. Open software systems are more easily updated, which allows for increased automation and less rekeying of data. Building a connection and developing relationships with your members is much more important than spending time entering information in clunky, outdated software.
Analyze member relationships. Business intelligence software provides credit unions with a full view of their members and their respective behaviors. Beyond an account summary, you can now use this information to cross sell new products and services. You also can troubleshoot any issues they may be having to build trust and improve their overall experience.
Assess product trends. It is critical to assess data in order to better understand which products and services warrant further investment. What products are members currently using? Which ones are losing revenue and potentially should be retired? Deriving answers to these questions eliminates efficiencies, reduces time and financial waste and drives new growth in profitable areas.
Offer incentives. Using data to track employee sales will shed light onto areas in which employees excel and where there may be room for improvement. These insights allow you to develop employee incentive programs in an effort to increase sales and revenue streams. Additionally, credit unions can benefit from offering members incentives, such as loyalty programs, which have been proven to both increase engagement and inspire them to conduct more business.
Uncover marketing opportunities. Once you understand your members’ behavior, you can market your products and services based on what they need individually. Are they looking to pay off a car? Are they at the age at which they should consider taking out a student loan or mortgage on a home? These milestones are prime opportunities for your credit union to assist and empower members on their financial journeys.
As we consider the future, it is clear that business intelligence software will only play an increasingly important role in unlocking new opportunities for both your credit union and its members – from identifying new products in which to invest, to increasing employee productivity to enhancing the member experience. The possibilities are as endless as the data points – make sure you capitalize on both.
Rhiannon Stone is COO at EPL, Inc.