3 Ways Credit Unions Can Use a CDP to Improve Customer Experience

Credit unions aren’t catching on with millennials, and that’s due in no small part to the fact that credit unions aren’t serving millennials where they want to be served: through digital channels. This signals an opportunity—and a need—for credit unions to do more to attract greater numbers of younger customers.

Credit unions are known for offering their members a rich in-person experience, but now more than ever amidst the current public health crisis, those members (and potential members) are looking for ways to plan their financial journey online or through mobile apps. While most financial institutions likely already have these goals down on paper, it’s no cake-walk to digitize a member journey. In fact, a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that 86% of financial institutions agree their technology infrastructure is complicated and a hindrance to quickly enabling digital interactions with their customers.

In that same report, BCG outlined how financial institutions that “don’t digitize fully or fast enough may find themselves in a downward spiral in terms of market share, revenues, and profits as newcomers and more nimble banks swoop in and take away customers while using their profits to continue to innovate.” Credit unions who extend their in-person offerings to digital platforms and apply a personalized approach will be well-positioned to reach a previously untapped audience. A customer data platform (CDP) can help this transition.

Today’s consumers have an unprecedented amount of financial services options at their disposal, which has ramped up competition within the industry. Organizations face greater pressure to deliver an outstanding customer experience or risk losing clients to another provider.

A solid digital strategy is essential for credit unions to compete in a crowded, rapidly evolving market where consumers expect convenient, personalized banking options. It can also help increase brand awareness, which research shows should be a top priority for credit unions.

A quarter of the millennials surveyed by Credit Union Journal admitted that they didn’t know how to describe a credit union. Another third characterized credit unions as “small banks with limited offerings,” and the remaining 45 percent said that the credit union experience was “more human, less digital.”

Change can be tough in a heavily regulated industry where legacy technology is commonplace. A CDP can help your credit union master digital member experience and navigate the regulatory hurdles that come along with collecting and using customer data.

Credit union brands are typically recognized for delivering personalized, community-oriented service to their members. This provides an advantage to connect with younger audiences, because generally speaking, younger demographics tend to value this approach.

Here are 3 ways that credit unions can draw from their traditional brand identity to use CDP technology to successfully navigate digital transformation:

Credit unions can deliver a high quality, convenient customer experience by harnessing integrations with various technology vendors. A CDP like AudienceStream can help make this a reality. Tealium’s AudienceStream CDP offers over 1,200 turnkey integrations so that you don’t have to worry about getting locked into working with any specific vendors. This solution gives you the freedom to use the integrations that work best for your clients’ needs.

USE CASE: Offline and Online Data Unification

Millennials (and other generations) are turning towards digital channels, but that doesn’t mean your traditional channels are going away. Through tight-knit integrations across your tech stack, a CDP can help combine branch and call center data with online data to provide a consistent, connected experience everywhere your members engage with you.

You don’t need to meet face-to-face with your members to deliver value. Credit unions who understand each step of their member’s financial journey can use this information to develop creative ways of personalizing the customer experience.

A CDP enables credit unions to personalize marketing and communications by integrating with various tools such as email marketing, online advertising, social media, and customer relationship management platforms. This empowers credit unions to take real-time action based on rich customer data insights. With a rich set of data at your fingertips, you can keep pace with your member’s journey in real-time. Send the right message (student loans for this member, not car loans yet) at the right time, in the right place in order to serve your members throughout their financial journey.

USE CASE: Grow Share of Wallet

When Credit Unions are better able to understand members’ digital interactions, “next best” products and services can be planned and marketed at the right time in the member journey. A student with a checking account may be researching new car loans, and with CDP driven insights you’re able to capture and act on that intent automatically through the appropriate channels.

While a CDP is a powerful tool, your organization’s culture around data will likely have to evolve to realize the technology’s full capabilities. It’s important for your credit union’s leaders to set a positive example and support employees through the implementation and adoption phases.

Internal changes aren’t the only thing to keep up with though. A CDP can help your credit union keep up with shifting customer behavior and preferences, as well as changing regulatory requirements. The technology scales with your business so that you can future-proof your efforts and avoid having to rip out existing systems down the road.

Unified data is the foundation for unifying the member journey and bringing coherent personalization across the tech stack. Finding the right use cases to start with and to grow from is the key to unlocking the value of a CDP.

But joining the digital revolution doesn’t mean giving up control over your customer data.  With Tealium AudienceStream CDP, privacy and trust are built in from the get-go.Learn more about how Tealium AudienceStream CDP can work for your credit union.