Want More Customers? Open the Doors
Many credit unions & community banks hide key information that prospective new customers need to open an account. FIs must open the doors before they are forced to close them for good.
Photo by Frank Eiffert on Unsplash
The Closed Door Problem
I went to a credit union website yesterday evening. I’ve passed the credit union many times on my daily travels. I had never heard of this credit union, so I looked it up. I wondered in particular about its membership requirements. The credit union branch was a tiny building on a heavily trafficked main road. It took me 4 or 5 (maybe more I lost count) clicks to discover a link to membership eligibility requirements. I even went to the page to open a new account. Not a single mention of membership requirements or a link to membership requirements.
Turns out the link to this information was on the home page, but in tiny print all the way at the bottom, after all the great info and links to bank accounts, mobile apps, loan applications. Teeny tiny print. I don’t mean to pick on this credit union. They are not unique. Many credit unions & community banks have the same challenge: They hide key information that prospective new members or customers need to open an account.
Closed doors hide all your financial services goodness from new customers.
Stop Hiding Key Info Consumers Need to Say Yes
Prospective members need to know a credit union’s membership criteria before they can open account. But not only membership criteria.
Community banks, credit unions & smaller retail banks must show consumers and small business owners how are you different from other financial institutions.
I don’t mean the scripted answer about the differences between credit unions and retail banks or how you offer superior customer service or lowest rate.
I mean actually different. For example:
Do you lend to all the up-and-coming small businesses in your community?
Do you offer micro-loans to emerging small businesses?
Do you have products & services specially designed for community college students?
For alumni of a big university in your area?
Clean Energy Credit Union is an example of how to open the door to differentiation that matters. I wrote about Clean Energy Credit Union a few years ago.
Their website tells and shows you exactly who they are & why they are different.
Membership requirements? One click away. Membership requirements are presented as part of the account opening process. Smart. Why?
Because if you want to open an account with a financial institution whose focus is clean energy, you are probably a member of an organization that qualifies you for membership or you are willing to join such an organization to qualify.
By doing this, the CU has differentiated itself from other credit unions that force consumers to dig around for membership requirements and then try to open an account or vice versa.
Digital doesn’t mean copying brochures into a digital process.
Why do I harp on how hard it is to find membership criteria, such a small point? Isn’t this the domain of the credit union or bank’s website design team or firm?
Yes, of course it is. But it’s also part of your strategy. It’s a change that could drive more small innovations in how the credit union or any financial institution approaches customer acquisition & identifies new customer groups.
Takeaways:
Get graphic. The more graphically you can describe how your credit union, community bank or retail bank actually differs from other financial institutions, the more likely you are to attract new members or customers. The more likely your institution will uncover
hidden tribes – those groups of customers you don’t currently target or market to, but who would be interested in your products and services.
Fix the small problems now. Small innovations fix problems that are closest to your customers. A few examples include reducing friction in account opening, digitizing document collection for loan and mortgage processes. Credit unions can remove friction between prospective members and new members by removing the 10 clicks required to get to the membership requirements to join your credit union.
Stop trying to engineer customer journeys. Neither your digital banking strategy nor your digital banking platform can engineer customer experiences and interactions. You also cannot drive customers, or prospective customers in a specific path to get the outcome only your FI desires.
Who writes PivotAssets?
I’m an independent analyst, strategic advisor & consultant (& a former Gartner analyst). I’ve worked in and covered the banking industry for over 2 decades.
My aim is not to confirm what you know (and you are plenty smart!) but to challenge you & give you a fresh perspective & analysis on the transformation that is —and isn’t happening - in the industry.
How can I help you?
Want more insights and analysis on small innovations, ghosting customers, hidden tribes and leveraging your bank’s legacy? Need help positioning your digital banking solution or fintech to meet the demands of today’s banking environment? I have my own firm PivotAssets.
I can analyze your GTM strategy or sales or VC presentation, help you prepare for your first vendor briefing or your first funding pitch meeting. I also write piece of thought leadership relevant to your business, solutions or technology. I also organize and moderate webinars series, podcast or panel.
Contact me at stessa@pivotassets.co or via LinkedIn.
I’m also available for inquiry and strategy sessions via Third Eye Advisory.
Me, Elsewhere
Did you miss the last Fintech Book Club? We discussed David Birch & Victoria Richardson’s Money in the Metaverse.
I’m an expert advisor at Third Eye Advisory.
I spoke with Theodora Lau and Barb Maclean on their podcast One Vision about smart banking & hidden tribes.
I moderated a great panel of folks for a conversation on innovation. We cut through the hype and share practical advice for making your digital transformation efforts pay off. We definitely talked about the importance of small innovations.