The X-factors
How providing a consistent member experience leads to growth.
I admit, I was a huge fan of the ’90s cult classic television show “The X-Files” and its two lead agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. Uniting their strengths of science and gut instinct, Scully and Mulder would, week after week, thwart assumptions to reveal that the “truth is out there.”
If you are a growth-minded credit union, you should be on your own search for the truth and specifically looking for the X-factors that will deliver results. In this case, X stands for experience. There is an emerging trend of having CXOs (chief experience officers) on the executive team at financial institutions and many other growing companies for good reason. Consumers today are looking for personal and memorable experiences that will keep them coming back to your organization time and time again.
The masters of retail—think Apple, Disney, Ritz Carlton and Zappos—know that what matters is not simply serving their customers but providing an experience. Service is inherently transactional or reactionary in nature, such as doing what is asked or fixing a problem after it has occurred. To provide an experience, however, is to make an interaction personal and memorable for the customer by anticipating needs and proactively recognizing an opportunity. Good experiences can foster a long-term relationship with a customer based on engagement, which leads to loyalty.
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