Reach members the way they prefer or lose them

I regularly tell my team and my clients this one thing: Ask a freaking question!

As credit union leaders, you work hard to identify your ideal member: their age, income, and what makes them tick. But I’m challenging you to consider one additional characteristic: How do they learn?

According to research:

• 65% of people prefer visual learning
• 30% of people prefer auditory learning
• 5% of people prefer kinesthetic (or hands-on) learning

Knowing that information, how equipped is your current credit union website to adapt to how your members prefer to consume information? Why does it matter, anyway?

And I know what you’re thinking, why does this matter to my credit union’s website?

Let me ask you this: Do you work with and serve humans?

Alright then.

Credit unions must consider their websites from the members’ perspective, keeping in mind about two-thirds prefer visuals and most of the remaining third prefer audio. Reviewing the data from your analytics platform might help to gain a new point of view. Consider:

• How are my members engaging with our credit union website?

Think about how they enter the website. What are they first greeted with on that landing page? A colorful picture of a local landmark is a nice touch to portray your participation in the community. Or perhaps a video from the latest community event your credit union participated in.

• Where do they go from that page?

Following the members’ path through your website can provide enlightening insights that you can then use to adapt your site. If you discover a certain page is popular, you could determine how to organically include other information that supports the credit union’s growth objectives.

• What roadblocks are members running into on my website?

Determine whether the pages are loading relatively quickly. As a general rule, consumers are only going to wait a couple of seconds for a website to load, and then they’re out of there. Many never return.

When visitors arrive at loan or membership applications, are they jumping ship because they’re taking too long to complete? Too much friction and you’re going to be leaving money on the table.

• What’s keeping members from interacting with my website more?

Examine the elements on your credit union website. Are there calculators for a variety of tasks? Are they easy to locate?

Ensure you have enough and the right Calls-to-Action to keep them clicking through to the next piece of useful information. This can take some testing, so be patient.

Mix your media between video, infographic, gifs and more to create a more inviting space with visual interest. Remember that the majority of people prefer visual learning. Don’t be intimidated by video. Pricing on tools to create videos in-house or outsourcing has come down, and newer platforms make videos faster and easier to create; it’s a natural for all types of learners and to achieve your marketing goals.

• When you discover there’s information to be updated on your website, how easy is it to change?

If updating your website requires your team to expend huge amounts of mental energy, then something needs to change. If you have to spend gobs of money to request a simple update – that you might have to wait weeks for, then you’ve got a problem.

Work with a web development firm that will create a delightful digital experience for staff and members. Your website is very frequently your potential members’ first impression of your credit union. Does your credit union website look and function as if it were interviewing for a job with your potential member? Or is sleek, modern design with clear navigation not in its binary vocabulary?

Your website is the central hub for your brand and marketing. Ask yourself whether it represents your credit union’s brand and mission well. Use internal and third-party data to review your website for determining the points of friction and create solutions. Consider the mix of content on the site to excite and engage visitors, and use strong CTAs to drive them through to the pages you want them to reach. When you discover things on your credit union website require tweaking, how easy is it to make changes? You must know your data and your audience, so you can pair the two to fully leverage the power of your credit union’s website.

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