Whether it’s been an increase in ‘unprecedented health circumstances’ or an increase in technological capabilities, the shift to digital communication and offerings is here for business. Financial Institutions are no different, with the need to digitize typical in-branch offerings becoming more and more necessary as the years progress. But while many processes are going through a digital transformation, like collection processes, onboarding, and lending, one area tends to be left behind: member engagement. Digitally engaging with members is incredibly important, as members are more mobile and using digital services like never before. Member’s want the easiest and more efficient solutions for their banking needs, and that means for engagement as well. With the need to digitize at an all time high, here are three ways to ensure success while implementing a digital engagement strategy.
Master the Mobile Outreach
Meeting your members on their preferred method of communication is the best way to engage with them. The best way to reach them is through Texting, a method of communication 48% of consumers prefer as their method of communication. With Text Messaging having a 98% open rate, Financial Institutions are able to reach their members more effectively than any other platform, and nearly guarantee an opportunity for your member to engage digitally. Not every member can make it into a physical branch, and not every member necessarily wants to come into a physical branch. Reaching those members through strong, proactive digital engagement with Texting creates a stronger level of trust.
Before you can start Texting your members, you need to build a list of Opt-Ins. Building Opt-Ins gives your members a chance to accept this form of digital engagement, along with being compliant. The best way to get a list of Opt-Ins is to offer a VIP Member service and market it. By getting sign ups and incentivizing them, members will be more apt to Opt-In. Just take Natco Credit Union for example. Upon deploying a new VIP Member line, they received 100s of Opt-Ins, in just 5 minutes
Better member engagement goes beyond an optimized mobile app: the best engagement starts with the best channel of communication.
Make Engagement Two-Way Street
Meeting your members on their preferred method of communication is only the beginning: the more interactive your digital engagement experiences are, the more effective they become. According to a Raddon Research Insights Report, 29 percent of consumers prefer digital interactions & 37 percent prefer to have the option of both. Having the ability to find out more information about products and services in a quick and efficient manner is what the members want. Utilizing keyword responses in the Text Messages makes this engagement more compliant and easier. When the conversation feels optimized and like a ‘two way street’ members feel more connected and comfortable communicating. Being able to offer those engagement touchpoints equivalent to that of an in-branch engagement gives more overall opportunities for engagement. When sending Text messages to your members, let members know that they can reply to the messages and get a response back. Convert your one-way marketing to two way marketing with conversation messaging and use chatbots and skill based routing to scale your interactions with members.
Convert Text engagement to Omnichannel Engagement
Texting is a great way to kick off digital engagement efforts. With Texting, your experts are in the pockets of the members, and can reach them at the members convenience. However, texting has its limitations – it is neither secure nor in real time, and doesn’t offer the same high touch service that a video meeting does. With a Text only solution, Financial Institutions are forcing their members to jump between different communication channels in order to collect documents securely or to engage the member in real time through video and voice. Ensuring your Financial Institutions selects a Digital Communication solution that has built in Omni-Channel capabilities, and provides a seamless way to add Secure Chat, Video and Voice to Text engagement. With proper training in using all these channels effectively, your team will be able to serve your members more efficiently and effectively.
Digital Engagement is becoming more and more important as technology advances. Being able to offer robust digital engagement to members in the way your branches offer in-person engagement is just as important. With changing world scenarios and busy schedules, strong digital engagement represents an opportunity to meet all of your members, without compromising service.
To find out why Eltropy is endorsed by CUNA Strategic Services as Best Enterprise-Call Digital Communications solution for Credit Unions, book a demo today.
