Ink on the Interview
Q: Do you want to give us a quick elevator speech?
A: So we think that credit unions have their own value proposition of high-touch service in brick-and-mortar channels on the phone or in a branch, historically, and we are working to bring that same high-touch relationship to the digital channel. So just like when you shop on Amazon and you’re shopping for a product and you get a note that says, people that shop for this also bought this other thing, we’re bringing that same experience to the financial services shopping experience for Criteum to make sure that members feel loved, appreciated, taken care of in the digital channel.
Q: Do you have anything more to add to that?
A: I think just building upon that, right, the opportunity is when a member or even a prospect starts to engage with your brand as a credit union, the ability to understand who they are and what their intent is and then deliver on that intent has a profound impact, has a profound impact on that visitor because they feel understood, they feel heard, and it has a profound impact on the institution, on the credit union, because it helps them drive and move their business forward.
Q: What brings you to San Francisco to Eltropy Emerge?
A: Because I hear there’s a partnership going on here. We are partnered with Eltropy, although what brings me to San Francisco is that I live in San Francisco. That’s one of the few conferences that I go to where I sleep in my own bed, and I drive to the conference and I drive home from the conference, which is a nice respite from all the other weeks that we spend on the road. But why we’re here with Eltropy is that they own this communications platform, this unified framework for how they engage with members. We are partnered with them to be able to take that data and use it in really smart ways in the unauthenticated digital experience. So what we’re looking to do is say, here’s what Eltropy knows about this member, and then based on that additional data, we’re taking that to then inform personalized experiences for them in the unauthenticated digital channel, so the public Facebook website for a credit union.
One of the powers of Eltropy is that they can have these incredible conversations with members and prospects in a variety of different channels. So those conversations are all about engagement. We can now take that data and all of that insight and that ability and expand it right into the unauthenticated space and use it to actually help credit unions take all the power of entropy to drive in growth. So as much about engagement, it now becomes an opportunity for engaging people for the future.
Q: So, what are some future plans here with Eltropy?
A: We think AI is obviously the future of all digital. There’s not going to be just AI companies. Every company will essentially be an AI credit union. The ability to use data is crucial to inform those experiences. So you can make an experience dynamic, but what makes those
experiences relevant is the data. And so Eltropy has all these great insights on members around how they’re engaging with the credit union. We seek to be able to tap into that data to be able to drive a better digital experience for those consumers and make sure that they feel what they feel when they walk into a branch. So if you were asking a chatbot, how do I solve the XYZ problem? We want to make sure that we’re taking that into account as that user is navigating through the digital experience, so that maybe they don’t have to drill into some additional FAQ content. In fact, the content that they see is hyper-targeted and hyper-focused on what their needs are. So that we essentially take the entire digital experience and focus it on that individual member.
Q: Hyper-personalization is another term I’ve been hearing a lot as well, and the data allows you to do that. What’s the ultimate goal here? What do you guys want to achieve here for credit unions and ultimately benefiting their members?
A: So, relevancy – What does relevancy mean? I think it’s about making sure that the member, the prospect, the visitor feels heard, feels understood, and then feels taken care of. And if you look at, even outside of the credit union industry, you look at industry in general, the brands that do a really good job of that win, right? They have repeat visitors, right? They get, you know, greater wallet share, right? The people who are their customers or their members talk about them in a brighter, happier way. So if you can do that and be relevant, and we believe that with the power and the capabilities they have with what we bring to the table and how we engage people in that unauthenticated space, we can help our mutual clients, our mutual customers, credit unions, actually achieve that objective.
Q: Did I get anything else here to add before I let you go?
A: We think that the opportunity to deliver personalized experiences has never been better. The members we’re talking with are super excited about getting better experiences. And the credit union leadership teams that we speak with are now increasingly clearer about the opportunity and looking for ways to be able to deliver on that.
I’m super excited for what is about to come, right? Both in the partnership, both with how we’re working with our current clients, with future clients, and where we’re going, right? Where we see the opportunity for what AI can bring to the table, not just because it’s AI, but because of how it is going to change how a brand can engage with a person, and what it can do with them and what credit unions are able to do. I’m super excited about what this is going to do. Yeah, and even today at the conference, is Innovation Day here for Eltropy Emerge, so it’s really fun to see what they have kind of brewing in their labs, so to speak, and then how you guys and all their other partners are going to fit in as well.
