Summer is coming to an end. It’s about time to trade in beach chairs and sunscreen for pumpkin spice lattes, Sunday football, flannel shirts, and the crisp smell of Autumn air.
In the credit union world, that means strategic planning season is on the horizon. Every year, pressure escalates to define and execute a plan that improves members’ financial lives, reduces operating costs, and creates efficiencies across the organization, all while building modern products that will catch the attention of new members and retain existing ones.
After a tumultuous couple of years, now more than ever, it’s critical for credit unions to prioritize innovation and delivery around digital transformation if you intend to remain a competitive community financial institution. As you start the series of steps to align your credit union’s vision, mission, and strategic goals for the next three to five years, are you prioritizing digital transformation? How will you overcome some of the challenges and maybe even disruptions experienced since your last strategic planning cycle?
Concerns And Considerations
According to the 2023 Jack Henry™ Strategic Priorities Benchmark Study, top concerns for credit unions have been centered on stagnant demand of the economy and the deposit attrition that has accompanied the downturn over the past couple of years. The same study also notes credit unions are focused on solutions that enhance their member experience — prioritizing digital marketing, consumer financial health, and cross-channel communication initiatives.
As an industry partner with a vision to power life’s important financial moments and help our customers connect with their consumers at every step of the financial journey, we recently surveyed more than 1,000 American consumers to learn more about and share information on current-day financial habits and trends.
The survey found more than half of Americans are concerned about their debt — one-third are most concerned about their credit card debt, and one-fifth are most concerned about their mortgage. Almost one-third of respondents say they have spent more money in the past six months than usual, and 39% say they have saved less money than usual.
Data from our survey also confirmed consumers often select financial partners that prioritize and cater to their unique needs and situation. The two most sought-after kinds of support are help in avoiding fees and receiving personalized account alerts. Troublingly, one-fifth of respondents did not believe they received this support when it was most needed.
How can you use these data-driven insights to generate value at every point in your credit union’s transformation? Credit unions of all sizes could benefit from partnering with an organization that can combine your products with high-quality digital experiences and timely, relevant communications — accelerating their competitive advantage.
Digitally Powered Growth Opportunities
Today’s digital landscape is the spark that inspires innovation in our industry, and as you can see from the data above, it’s about more than just offering your members online and mobile banking access. Financial services is at a crossroads that requires answers to some very important questions: Will you prioritize and fully embrace digital transformation? Do you have the resources available to solve these complex problems with powerful yet practical solutions? We’re here to help.
MIT Sloan senior lecturer George Westerman said, “when digital transformation is done right, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a caterpillar.”
With the proper planning, and implementation of data-driven digital solutions, your credit union can benefit from increased share of wallet, pipeline optimization and increased loan growth, increased deposit growth and liquidity, improved account opening and loan origination ratios and processing time, enhanced engagement, and increased revenue from new and existing relationships.
To optimize digital engagement, create fast, frictionless experiences, and help accelerate your credit union’s position of growth, consider adding these three items to your strategic planning agenda this year:
- Speed: Maximize digital applications and minimize human intervention to deliver the best user experience from digital application to loan funding.
- Reach: Bundle third-party data and internal data with AI decisioning to broaden the applicant pool and accelerate profitability.
- Demand: Use data-driven personalization to drive new and deeper member relationships, increasing engagement and revenue growth.
The Result?
Hear it directly from our customers.
Connect with us to learn more how we can make it easy for you to deliver true digital transformation with our end-to-end solutions platform— MeridianLink® One.
The materials available in this article are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your own advisors with questions regarding the content herein. The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the individual author and might not reflect the opinions of MeridianLink, Inc.