Financial institutions (FIs) are arguably under more pressure than ever to ensure a consistency of service and handle poor consumer experiences in an effective manner. At the same time, they are under pressure to expand their offerings across multiple channels in an effort to meet ever-changing consumer needs and expectations.

Key to navigating this pressure is better understanding consumers and utilizing the information effectively across the board. This is where harnessing the power of Big Data is comes in. A recent Credit Union Times article highlights four basic data-collection fields community FIs can and should tap for a deeper understanding of their consumers.

1. Review current Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems — The value of collected data is only as good as its accuracy. Evaluate the CRM systems your FI has in place to determine their strength in gathering “clean” data for targeted and segmented marketing efforts. Don’t forget to loop in compliance. When it comes to fair lending, how consumers are identified and targeted can raise red flags for examiners. Make adjustments where necessary.

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