ORLANDO, Fla.-As CUs preach about safety and soundness, they must also use technology to reach the right audience in the way that audience wants to be reached.
That was the message from a variety of technology vendors, who also suggested CUs should offer more services such as mobile banking and remote deposit and institute efficiencies such as check scanning and electronic account opening.
"In order to stay on the same playing field, they have to offer the same product (as the big banks) or they will lose market share," Integrated Bank Technology President Mike Golebiowski observed. "Technology is going to be the key to organic growth."
"A big part of the financial industry is up for grabs," added John Levy, president of Integrated Media Management.
If he were a credit union CEO, Levy said he would invest in marketing about what his institution had to offer from both a stability and services side. He noted that IMM's mission to turn everything that credit unions normally put on paper into an electronic file can save huge amounts of money and attract new members as their home loan mortgages and auto loans can be completed from thousands of miles away in a matter of minutes instead of days.
Once the investment in automation technology is made, credit unions could potentially see huge payroll savings as positions can be eliminated through attrition, while still boosting efficiency, and employees who used to be doing menial tasks can cross-sell members.
Niche targeting from both a technological and marketing perspective is also key to growth, noted Baron Unbehagen, VP-sales for Postilion, adding that CUs must stop their "shotgun" approach to marketing and instead focus on demographic segments that make up huge chunks of their membership. After determining which segments to target, implement the technological upgrades and focus the marketing campaign entirely around those new services as well as the credit union's relationship with the community, Unbehagen advised.
