From surviving to thriving, the digital future lies ahead accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis. Digital experiences have reached a tipping point for members/customers expectations to a more personal relationship that will drive post-COVID engagement. Financial services need to prepare for more digital experiences that are flexible and quick to respond to various members/customers needs.

From an April 2020 J. D. Power consumer sentiment study, COVID-19 Pulse Check – 31% of those surveyed stated their usage has increased for online/digital as their primary way of handling finances with their financial institution.¹

Some CEOs contemplate a typical reaction, making budget cuts, to ride out the crisis. Others are taking actions to accelerate their digital transformation to become stronger by building digital relationships with their members/customers through focused and personal engagement. Most financial institutions are bombarding their members/customers with never-ending COVID email messages. The fatigue from all these email blasts causes members/customers to opt-out or ignore and delete the communication.

What’s important is how financial services respond then what they do next to identify sources of revenue, while prioritizing to reflect the impact on earnings and the ability to execute quickly. Speed matters; it will not be enough to gradually position yourself with new digital tools, promotions, services, offerings, and then begin to look at the long-term to prepare for what happens next. Rapid response isn’t just a way to survive COVID-19; it’s the next normal for how financial services will have to operate post-crisis.

OneClick Financial’s personal pages are dedicated to creating an engaging one-on-one relationship with financial services members/customers. They deliver in a single email that takes them to personal page content with deep links to your website. It doesn’t take multiple emails to deliver targeted messages to each member/customer. The personal page is a single point with curated content that is relevant to their needs based on data, location, behavior, or life event.

A global study of nearly 33,000 financial services members/customers across 18 markets highlights significant shifts in what members/customers expect from their financial services institution. “Generic product advice and services for today’s digital-savvy members/customers is not enough. They expect personalized advice, education, and benefits tailored to their life stage, financial goals, and personal needs,” according to an Accenture, 2019 Study. ²

Financial services are laggards’ when it comes to creating and delivering meaningful personal experiences to their members/customers!

That was the headline just this past April on Business.com. Not a very encouraging story. The follow-up wasn’t any better. The article featured a quote from Google Trends, “There has been a 50% increase in the volume of financial search phrases over the last five years”³ The search phrases used most were “Commercial loans, “Interest checking accounts, “Mortgages, and “Local (Financial services)”. Again, according to Business.com, “These clearly show that consumer and commercial members/customers are looking for financial products and financial institutions and starting their search online.” Perhaps if they were getting the level of personal attention they expect, their first inclination would be to connect with their current financial institution first.

Also, in the April 2020 J.D. Power COVID-19 Pulse Survey, they asked what products/services people planned to adopt in the next three months?¹ 

And what did these members/customers find when they searched for these products and services on financial services websites? Generic navigation that requires multiple clicks to retrieve needed content and tools. While financial marketers and members/customers experience managers agree that the future of digital finance is dynamic personalization, very few have implemented these powerful technologies or even know where to begin. If you are a financial services websites, chances are members/customers  will click off your digital channels before they ask for help if they have to work so hard to find all the information they require to make a financial decision.

Financial services must master personal digital experience and ENGAGE members/customers. That includes more than data mining to identify key target segments, blasting out emails, or direct mail — it requires an individualized approach. Using advanced analytics and member/customer data, financial services will meet their members/customers where they are, offering digital content experiences that are not only relevant but welcomed!

Outcomes from dynamic, engaging experiences with practical personalization that outperform static industry peer emails:^4,5

• Higher trust through personalization that delivers five to eight times the ROI
• 30% Higher loyalty and retention
• 40% Higher adoption rates for additional product and services

“Consumers reward trusted brands with purchases, loyalty, and
advocacy – and punish the brands they do not trust.”

— Edelman study

Today’s digital member/customer expects a relevant and engaging experience every time. And if they don’t get one — they don’t stick around. You’ve got one-shot in today’s fast-paced digital world. Personal pages deliver greater personalization based on data modeling and curating content from all channels and sources.  It goes even further, according to Forbes contributor Shep Hyken, who writes extensively on building relationships. “Members/customers expect more and no longer compare you just to your direct competition. They scrutinize your institution to digital natives that are now moving into brick and mortar, like Amazon – one-click ease of access to the content, the functionality they need to make informed decisions!”⁶

OneClick Financial Puts Data-Driven Personalization into Action with Curated Content, Functionality and Deep Links to Drive Engagement and LEADS

1 WELCOME Upon enrollment, the platform data immediately triggers a welcome that introduces the member (customer) to their personal experience.

2 CROSS-SELL The data triggers the presentation of additional products and services that is relevant to that member/customer situation.

3 RETARGET From previous adoption, behavior actions, and life event surveys, OneClick delivers meaningful content like calculators, educational articles, application forms, and statistical information that re-engages the member/customer to generate leads.

4 ADHOC A dedicated experience can provide information on promotions, disasters and events that need immediate attention and are unique to a local community or across the entire portfolio.

5 LEADS The leads generated can be instantly provided to an individual, branch, sales team for a follow-up call to help complete the transaction.

Harnessing the power of machine learning/AI driven business rules to kick the platform into high gear, OneClick Financial encourages cross-sell opportunities and deposit relationship growth. With an analytics-driven approach, substantial improvement to targeted marketing can scale to a new experience. Key ingredients to achieve a data-analytics vision: useful quality data, secure technology, prioritized opportunities for cross-selling, and an internal commitment to digital transformation, OneClick provides valuable insights-driven member/customer data, ensuring continuous improvement, and increased ROI.

Machine learning/AI is not necessary for personalization, of course, but it can certainly help to deliver a unique member/customer experience to each individual. These algorithms analyze data from members/customers purchases who share certain behaviors or characteristics and is used to automatically recommend products that are highly likely to be of interest to each member/customer. Machines cannot yet beat the sales skills of human beings. Where they do excel is in their ability to process vast quantities of data. OneClick Financial components like our life event survey are a great way to apply machine learning/AI driven business rules to member/customer data responses. Then retargeting relevant content on the personal page to address specific products and services related to the future life event. We use links to calculators, educational materials, and downloads to retarget members/customers with timely products that can help them to achieve specific financial needs in their lives. Using analysis to score leads means sales and marketing teams have more time to spend engaging with prospects and crafting effective marketing campaigns. We help to eliminate the guesswork.

There is much money to be made in cross-sells – you have a 60 – 70% chance of selling to an existing member/customer, compared to only a 5-20% chance for your expensive acquisition efforts. ⁷

With an average of 20.47% open rate for financial services email — you need to make it worth the member’s (customer’s) time to open your email. If financial services continue sending email blasts that are irrelevant, they might as well hang out the for-sale sign at headquarters. Members/customers are empowered and can choose to ignore, delete, or, worse yet, unsubscribe. If you are going to engage with your members/customers openly and helpfully in this COVID crisis, then make sure there is something significant on the other end of that email! Personal pages deliver that value for both the member/customer and the credit union (bank), which leads to loyalty and share-of-wallet.

FOOTNOTES:

• April 2020 J.D.Power Financial Services COVID-19 Pulse Survey

• Accenture 2019 study, Customer expectations from their financial services

• com/articles/financial-services-personalization/

• com/sites/pamdanzinger/2018/01/10/amazons-customer-loyalty-is astonishing/

• McKinsey & Co, Build trust through personalization

• com/sites/shephyken/2018/08/05/what-customers-want-and-expect/

• hubspot.com/service/crossselling