ORLANDO, Fla. Credit Union Journal’s Grow Show kicked off yesterday with payments experts laying it on the line to CU execs, telling attendees to get moving in the mobile space if the CU has not already, and to base their plans on analysis of the membership.
“Know how your members are behaving, and which ones are the most profitable,” said Caroline Willard, EVP, markets and strategy at CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. “Credit unions have the data, and the amount and detail is overwhelming. But a common problem is that they may not have the tools to mine the information.”
Willard emphasized that when mapping a mobile strategy, the CU should know the number of products per member, and how much members are spending and at which merchants. “You need to get granular down to demographics and transactions. That will tell you a lot about what their mobile needs are.”
Brian Scott, VP at The Members Group, Des Moines, Iowa, stressed understanding where the CU’s bread is buttered, making sure that a mobile solution caters to the most proftibale members first. “Get to know the top 80% of the membership that is producing your income who they are, what they look like.”
Bill Lehman, VP of portfolio consulting at CSCU, Clearwater, Fla., reminded that outside of examining the CU’s member data, credit unions should survey to know what the membership wants. “Ask them about the mobile products and services they like and use.”
Mike Kelly, CEO at PSCU, St. Petersburg, Fla., urged credit unions to dream big with mobile and then take action on one idea. “Get your ideas going, and then get them off the white board. Implement one it can be small, but try one. You don’t have to go portfolio wide. If the effort goes well, go to version two. If not, kill the project and move on to another idea.”
Yesterday’s payments panel discussion was the first of three days of Grow Show sessions packed with presentations and speakers all addressing one issue: growth. Look for continuing coverage all week.
