By Steve Francis
The evolution of the Internet and the rise of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have placed information in the palms of our hands in unprecedented ways. These technological advances have brought with them an important shift in expectations. The shift is this: People today expect to be able to immediately interact with information presented to them.
This shift has far-reaching implications for member engagement, particularly in a document-centric industry like banking. Gone are the days when members are satisfied to receive a static PDF account statement. While reading their transactional statements and related documents (loan documents, tax notices, etc.) isn’t typically considered an enjoyable activity, it can become one for your members by adding the ability to click on colorful charts or graphs of their choosing, or watching videos embedded right into their statements.
This kind of interactivity has received the name "gamification" for its game-like attributes, and a 2011 study by JWT Intelligence found that 63% of respondents said making everyday activities more like a game would make them more fun and rewarding.
Gamification Pays
So here is the new opportunity: Introducing elements of gamification in to your credit union documents may be the single most effective way to improve your members' relationship with and loyalty to your organization.
Offering communications that are dynamic is an innovative way to take something that may otherwise be viewed as a chore (reviewing account terms, transactions, etc.) and transform it into an engaging experience that adds value and improves the customer experience.
Today, and in more ways than ever, the consumer decides what information they want to see and how they want to see it. Why not give your members the ability to customize their statements so that the information most important to them, such as withdrawals or accumulated balances, is prominently displayed? This type of interactivity has the potential to improve member education and understanding and reduce the need for member service calls for questions or clarifications.
In addition to easy-to-recognize benefits, dynamic communications can give your organization a number of new capabilities as well, including gaining insight into member preferences by tracking clicks and to present highly relevant and personalized offers and messages—including videos—to target new products and services.
Putting it all together
Forward-thinking organizations realize the time has come to make lifeless PDFs a thing of the past and to get on board with modern communications. The marketplace is proving that credit unions getting the most member stickiness are the ones that are incorporating some level of interaction into their experiences.
Engaging members through more interactive, dynamic communications will deepen relationships with them, enhance their experience, increase loyalty and, best of all, differentiate your credit union from the competition.
Steve Francis is president and general manager for GMC Software Technology, North America, a provider of multichannel and highly personalized document outputs for customer communication management. For info: www.gmc.net.