Digital transformation, yes, but beware of the digital silo

The way consumers manage their financial lives has changed dramatically over the last 10 years—or since the introduction of smartphones capable of linking directly to credit unions, banks, brokerages and all other manner of financial institution.  Despite the fact that the smartphone apps linking to entertainment sources like Pandora still lead the pack in terms of overall popularity, the number of financial technologies (fintech) currently available for handling personal finances have exploded. In 2010, as fintech was emerging, the developers in this space raised about $2 billion in funding. Today, this funding exceeds $20 billion and developers seem to be using every bit of it. A quick Google search will provide you with articles that rank dozens of apps by function and popularity, as well as directing you to online stores where you can pick the application that best suits your needs.

It all boils down to customer experience.  Rather than spending a lunch hour standing in line at the credit union, members can just tap a few numbers into their phone to see if their paycheck has arrived in their account, to transfer money between accounts, to pay a few bills, or to check their credit rating or the interest on their 401(k). While this convenience is enormously popular, it also has been enormously disruptive for the financial institutions that develop and support it, even though financial organizations gain positive benefits from the offering. The technology reduces the cost and time needed to communicate with members, and perhaps most significantly, what you communicate about. Fintech can also help you cross-sell products and services like loans and mortgages. In fact, your digital customers are found to be up to three times more profitable due to their increased interactions with the more economical self-serve option that they choose.

Digital first, but not exclusively

However, while members may use their smartphones to quickly check their account balances, they may also still request monthly paper statements or make a call in to customer service. The conundrum here is that printed documents and other stored marketing data require different formatting than that used for mobile phones and other remote digital devices. Before you even start down the digital path, it is important to take into consideration the broader and longer-term effects being created as you expand the digital path. These include:

• Digital functionality
• Compatibility or integration with the key staff channel for in-branch improvements
• Support for operations and back office staff
• Data reusability
• Costs for transforming each additional channel

Transform with an omni-channel end game

Rather than developing isolated communication channels for mobile, tablets, web sites, print, intranet, etc., a more functional, and ultimately more cost-effective solution, is to find a broad underlying platform that manages the customer experience across all communication channels, including the less exciting ones like paper and back office screens. You’ll need something that allows for the reuse of the technology, provides an operational model and the content where appropriate. Focus your budget and resources on digital for all the reasons given above, but with the knowledge that when your requirements go beyond digital, the work you’ve done can be replicated and reused.  This approach enables:

• Full reusability of assets and content across all channels, from the digital and mobile applications through to back office operational screens
• Expansion of the new, business-controlled digital operational model across all the communications channels you use
• Huge economies of scale, reducing the number of different technologies that need support

Building your digital communications without the big picture in mind is an expensive way to create yet another high-walled silo within your organization. But by focusing on creating a true omni-channel experience as your end game, you can then transform your credit union into a true digitally enabled organization.