Just as individuals and our collective psyche are managing the current COVID-19 crisis, with varying degrees of effectiveness, the reality is, some businesses will struggle with the immediate and long-term effects. Those executives and leaders who can bring a cloudy future into focus, acting with insight and decisiveness, are best equipped to thrive in what comes next. They have mastered both the art and the science of intercepting the future. They are thinking ahead because they already know what’s on the horizon: a Financial Services Aftershock.
Though we are past the shock of the initial impact of the pandemic, there is a daunting rebuilding phase ahead and I suspect we will be in it for some time. One thing is certain – the migration to digital channels is only going to accelerate. The question is: will the digital experience you provide your members be your stabilizing force against the aftershock, or will it crumble under the demands of a new financial services reality?
Driven to digital
Certainly the trend to digital channels was clear even before COVID-19, but it has taken on new urgency in light of events. According to the recently released J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, 52% of retail bank customers were classified as “branch dependent” before the COVID-19 pandemic. Successfully transitioning these consumers to digital channels—without compromising customer/member experience—will be critical in the weeks and months ahead. Those who had not previously adopted online and mobile channels are doing so now. Nothing drives change like necessity.
Many people are finding how easy it is to manage their accounts digitally. But some are not having the same smooth experience! If your members’ early experiences with digital channels are frustrating, they will return to their old ways as soon as they have the opportunity. Or worse, they will be lured by a competitor with a shinier mobile app. If you haven’t looked at your digital channels from the member’s vantage point, there may be tremors building under the surface. If you’re aware of tremors in your digital channels now, in the form of negative member feedback or social media posts, those should serve as a very big warning! And if you don’t know how to even detect those tremors and draw up a plan to counter them, you have serious work to do.
To have a larger number of banking consumers reduce their branch usage and stick with online and mobile banking, post-pandemic, their experience must be consistently smooth and effective. To that end, the human support for digital channels will prove to be as important as the technology behind the channels. Credit unions need to know where the friction is, pinpointing exactly what to improve to ensure these channels are a future go-to preference and best-in-class experience.
Where short-term actions translate into long-term success
Support EXP is working closely with each of our clients to look past the parentheses in which they are now operating, combining short-term MX insight with a long-term member-focused view. To take just one case: when the pandemic abruptly forced drastic changes in this credit union’s operations, its leadership sprang into action. They realized the credit union was on a new trajectory, one that would continue to see changes in member behaviors. Support EXP helped them craft an MX data analytics-based operating strategy to get them through the crisis stronger than ever. Credit union leaders defined a key objective: making current channels – particularly digital channels, which have tripled in usage during the crisis – become a go-to, preferred choice for its members when the crisis has passed. Support EXP worked with this credit union to adapt its member feedback solutions to provide continuous operational, strategic and brand data, directly from the member perspective, to understand how the credit union was meeting its members’ needs in the current environment.
The result thus far: this credit union’s NPS attributable to its service channel experience leaped from 64 in February to 78 in March and 79 in April – the height of the COVID-19 crisis. This success-under-pressure was driven largely by members’ appreciation of the convenience of the credit union’s online and mobile banking options – the right channel at the right time. We’ll be sharing this credit union’s complete story of success in the near future. In the meantime, consider it an example of the ever-greater role digital channels are and will be playing in determining member loyalty. Neglect them at your own risk.
Being firmly anchored NOW means standing strong later
So in this make-or-break reality, what are you doing to listen to your members, to understand their changing needs and behaviors? Once you know how to listen and respond to your members, you can be confident you are firmly anchored NOW against the next seismic event. Then they will stand with you well after the aftershocks have subsided.
In uncertain times, you don’t want to lose the Voice of the Member. That’s why we’re offering credit unions like yours a comprehensive CX Analysis:
