Why CRM needs to be in your 2018 tech budget
2018 promises to be a year of both new opportunities and new competitive threats for credit unions. In response to the ongoing emergence of FinTechs and digital banks, and the increasing expectations of tech-savvy customers, credit union leaders are seeking practical ways to improve their go-to-market strategies and their customer experience across all channels (including in-branch, phone, website, and mobile banking).
Why are they doing this? Well, for the last five years, 54% of bank and credit union marketers have reported that cross selling and growing share of wallet is their number one priority, according to the 2017 Digital Banking Report. But despite this focus:
- 32% struggle with delivering personalized, targeted messages
- 28% struggle with audience segmentation
- 30% struggle with understanding customer needs
So, while the intent to grow is there, credit union marketers are being held back by a lack of actionable member data and insights. And similar roadblocks are being experienced across the board by employees in member services, sales – even finance.
This situation has sparked a resurgence of interest in customer relationship management (CRM), also referred to as member relationship management (MRM). Today’s MRM solutions offers substantial benefits for everyone from executives down to front-line staff, and most importantly, for valued members.
Here are four of the ways MRM can help any credit union become a more nimble, data-driven organization.
1) Streamlining sales and service processes
Cultivating strong relationships with your member base is job #1 at every credit union. But if MSRs don’t have immediate access to the member’s past information and history, it becomes very difficult for them provide a consistent, efficient member experience and personalized financial advice.
Implement MRM though, and your MSRs will be equipped with the tools and information they need to interact with members in valuable ways. They’ll resolve complaints faster, serve members and fulfill their needs faster, and enjoy their day-to-day jobs more when they aren’t rooting for customer information across multiple disconnected systems.
2) Insight into activities and what it takes to engage with members
Credit union Member Experience teams are trying to keep up with the changing needs of members, and it’s a complicated job. Just ten years ago, most members weren’t even using smartphones, and now they do more online than anyone could have imagined. As futurist Brett King indicates, “…banking is no longer somewhere you go, but something you do.”
A MRM system can be used to track responses to member engagement initiatives, serving as a springboard to test new ideas and determine what resonates with members across both traditional and emerging channels. It’s a vital source of information to help Member Experience professionals monitor behavioral and demographic shifts in the member base, and adjust accordingly.
3) Granular reporting on targeted marketing campaigns
Modern marketers love data, which means a MRM solution that gives the CMO insights into in-flight campaigns is imperative. With access to MRM, marketing can pick exactly the right audience for each campaign, boosting response rates. And they’ll be able to track efficacy by instantly accessing rich data about opportunities and their lifecycle stages.
MRM takes the guesswork out of marketing. Once it is in place, marketers will know who buys what, how many interactions it takes to sell a given product, what types of interactions (phone calls, in person, in branch) are most effective for selling, and what percentage of marketing opportunities are actually in progress and which haven’t been touched yet.
4) Understanding potential pipeline for financial forecasting
For a credit union CFO, instant access to company data is essential. However, disparate legacy back office systems isolate information. Since the information can’t be easily accessed, it frustrates business units and slows their time to market, which in turn leads to the ineffective use of resources. A MRM solution acts as a central data source for activities like accurate financial forecasting, which rely on a complete understanding of the sales pipeline.
MRM puts data at the CFO’s fingertips, so they can understand changes in the market to allow them to respond quickly. And many MRM solutions today even make this critical data available in real time through executive dashboards, so the CFO and other members of the leadership team can make informed decisions that steer the credit union in the right direction.
The Future is Customer-Centric
By 2020, PWC analysts project that ““Customer intelligence” will be the most important predictor of revenue growth and profitability” at financial institutions. Credit unions that build the technological capabilities to understand and meet member needs will be ahead of the game, offering seamless and personal omnichannel experiences that help grow member relationships. By implementing the right technology now, credit union leaders can ensure a bright future for their organizations, by meeting the trend towards increased member-centricity head on.
CRM (MRM) = substantial operational benefits + ROI.
To learn more about how CRM pays its own way for credit unions, check our free eBook “CRM in Credit Unions: the Undiscovered Revenue Source”
