Demystifying banking CRMs: 4 critical reasons credit unions need CRM in 2023 and beyond

In 1961, John F. Kennedy and his staff narrowly avoided nuclear war. The seeds of CRM played an unexpected role. While it might not be recognized as such in any history books, the methods used by the U.S. government during the Cold War bore a striking resemblance to modern Customer Relationship Management practices.

Kennedy’s administration launched the first-ever presidential briefings, organizing crucial information in a centralized manner similar to how a CRM operates today. By systematically managing and analyzing this information, much like how CRMs handle customer data, John F. Kennedy and his staff were able to glean insights and make informed decisions that helped avert the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This early application of CRM principles showcases the power of organized information — a power that your credit union can harness today for growth and success.

CRM saves the day!

Today, CRMs are everywhere. They might not stave off an end-of-the-world catastrophe, but they can be used to help your credit union grow and avoid being merged in the process.

Just be warned. There’s a big difference between a CRM built for managing sales and marketing versus a true credit union CRM. You need a CRM that does more than store contact information as well as a member’s product and service mix. You need one that helps you avoid a business meltdown and sets you up for success in 2023 and beyond.

What (actually) is a credit union CRM?

Unlike a typical CRM that just tracks someone from one channel to another, a credit union CRM is built to integrate with your core –– to track everything your members do with and at your credit union. That includes online, phone, in-person, and ATM interactions.

Cataloging that information is just part of the fun. By leveraging a holistic view of your members, you’ll improve your marketing efforts and retention, drive sales growth, and boost internal productivity. You’ll quickly discover what your members want and need and how your employees can best interact and deliver.

With pre-built reports, cases, and workflows designed specifically for credit unions, you’ll have the necessary tools to track the performance of your financial products and services.

Your members want you to help them manage their money and financial lives. When you do, they’ll thank you with loyalty and dollars.

Now, let’s go over 4 game-changing reasons your credit union needs a CRM moving forward.

1. Credit union CRMs connect your data

The right credit union CRM will connect your core data and disparate systems. What you end up with is a single view of every member that your MSRs and more can interact with from a single location. This minimizes employee onboarding, improves performance, and makes it possible to personalize every experience.

With a credit union CRM, everyone uses the same system packed with vital member statistics and trends. Gone are the days of jumping from one application to another or adhering physical sticky notes to file folders. Plus, there’s an added bonus: you’ll reduce employee turnover by making their job easier and more rewarding.

2. Credit union CRMs empower members and front-line staff

Your members turn to you for financial advice and out-of-the-box money ideas. So, it makes sense that upselling and cross-sales help those you serve achieve their financial goals and dreams. A credit union CRM helps make those interactions less awkward.

Instead of a script that sounds like a sales pitch, your people will have instant insights into credible product and service recommendations. They’ll feel empowered to make a difference.

If you start to offer incentives, they’ll feel even more empowered — deepening relationships, increasing loyalty and trust, and boosting the credit union’s not-for-profit bottom line.

You don’t need to be reminded that when your credit union grows, so do your member’s financial lives. It’s a perfect financial circle that benefits everyone in the organization.

3. Credit union CRMs deliver instant insights

You and your employees crave on-demand reports and dashboards. You know, the kind that allows your CEO to pull together a board report in minutes, or your phone support team to pinpoint and contact members who might need help organizing their finances before they miss a loan payment.

With a credit union CRM, everyone in your credit union can track KPIs in real-time. Call center wait times will decrease. Loan to share ratios will improve. Member loyalty will climb. Birds will sing and clouds will part.

4. Credit union CRMs increase efficiency

Growth is the name of the game. With your employees working in one system instead of multiple applications (or worse yet, no systems), they can focus on the members.

Gone are the days of manual data entry and time-wasting research. Team efficiency improves, cutting costs while speeding up member servicing. Congratulations, you’ve just become the Amazon of credit unions.

Don’t ignore the CRM future

There’s a lot at stake when it comes to choosing and implementing a credit union CRM. Yes, it’s going to cost money, but the lost opportunities are too vast. Even if it were simply predictive analytics and time efficiency, credit unions with a credit union CRM are going to outpace everyone else.

Do you want to run the race? Or fall flat at the starting line?

Choose the right credit union CRM

CRMNEXT is built specifically for credit unions. Our in-house implementation and consulting team offers 24/7 support as well as real-time, 2-way vertical core integration without all the oops-you-need-another-third-party-vendor hidden costs.

More than a billion end customers worldwide have put our credit union CRM into use. You can too. Get all the details and see CRMNEXT in action.

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