LAS VEGAS — Nevada FCU here has found a way to increase cross-sales despite having decreased the number of employees who directly interact with members.
Using the Next Multi-Channel Marketing application from Fiserv, Nevada Federal is appealing to certain, preapproved members at various touch-points. The deployment has been successful enough to have even gotten a mortgage loan from an ATM screen message.
Next is a targeted marketing solution that uses the credit union's existing electronic channels as a pathway for promoting products and strengthening relationships. Greg Barnes, SVP of marketing for $804-million Nevada Federal, said the CU only recently has tapped Next for all of its capabilities. He cited a pre-approved Visa promotion that, instead of relying on standard mail, targeted members electronically across several channels.
"If the member is pre-approved and used one of our ATMs, a prompt asks if they want a Visa card," he explained. "If the member says yes, the card is made and mailed."
The key, Barnes continued, lies in soliciting the member at all contact points, including online, in-branch and ATMs. Nevada Federal, for instance, identifies members who meet its preapproval criteria, and then enter that information into the Next database.
"We also use it for e-statements," Barnes said. "If the member has paper statements, we cross-sell e-statements. If the member's e-mail address becomes invalid, we can correct online or at a branch. We notify the member at an ATM that he or she needs to update the e-mail address, as there aren't enough (ATM pad) keys to input that information."
Pete Jenkins, Nevada Federal's SVP for administrative services, said NFCU has been moving toward automation since the 1990s, when it removed most teller stations in branches and began increasingly servicing members using ATMs.
The result: decreased personnel costs, but also decreased opportunities for "face time" with Nevada Federal reps.
"We started to notice that our cross-sale efforts were drifting lower and we wanted to prop those up," Jenkins told Credit Union Journal. "We wanted to use automation, and worked hard over the years to build a product that would work with ATMs, online banking and the phone. We now have an all-inclusive system, regardless of where we touch the member."
Both Barnes and Jenkins said the impact of using Next has been clear. Marketing expenses have decreased, 70% of members have switched to e-statements which Jenkins called "awesome penetration," Barnes observed), and the recent Visa promotion increased the credit card portfolio by 60%.
Said Jenkins: "We didn't know how great Next was going to be. We thought it might prop up sales a little, but it has delivered great sales, especially in Visa. We also saw significant improvement in e-statements. We've even sold mortgages through the ATM! If people respond positively, the program has a fulfillment routine that sends an e-mail to one of our people in the mortgage department, who contact the member. The script can note that a member declined an offer at an ATM, so the teller or member service rep can ask why and look pretty smart."
Happy Birthday, from an ATM
Beyond sales, Jenkins said Next has strengthened relationships with members through the ability to make personalized service messages. For example, it can offer up birthday greetings or thank you messages for adding products.
"Last week, someone received a 'Happy Birthday' at the ATM, parked his car to come in and tell us it was the coolest thing he had ever seen," Jenkins recalled. "It is a lot of fun and it is very cool."
The only complaint Nevada Federal received about the birthday messages was at first they only were displayed once. Members were so surprised, they brought back their spouses and friends to show them the ATM wished them happy birthday, but the message did not repeat. "So now we display the greeting for 24 hours," Jenkins said.
Virginia Scott, senior product manager, Next Multi-Channel Marketing, for Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv, said approximately 15 CUs currently are using Next. The product previously was offered only to a small group of credit unions and only recently has been introduced to a broader set of CU clients.
According to Scott, Nevada Federal's adoption of Next evolved out of the CU's need to reach its members through the electronic channel. She said Next is core agnostic as it is not attached to any specific account processor platforms.
"It can work for any financial institution that wants to do targeted marketing down their electronic channels," she said. "Next is incredibly flexible. Credit unions use various data sources to make decisions: from credit bureaus, from MCIF systems, from a lending system or from the account processor. The data can be combined to target offers. There are other marketing systems out there, but not all of them know what transpires on other channels on real time. Once a message is accepted or declined, it won't come up again."
Another key differentiator for Next is product fulfillment, Scott continued. She said Next can put a product in members' hands when they say, "Yes, I am interested in this product."
"And, it can send service messages, such as the 'Happy Birthday' message Nevada Federal uses," she noted. "One credit union is running 30 concurrent offers and service messages on Next, and others are finding unique uses for it every day. The product is wonderful and it is meeting our clients' needs by reaching their membership, it just hasn't gotten a lot of exposure yet."
Barnes said he would recommend Next to any credit union that wanted to improve cross-sales, but he cautioned it needs to have someone in-house dedicated to running the program.
"It is very intensive and requires a lot of updates," he said. "When a member comes in, the program shows what things the member is pre-approved for or might have a propensity for. Cindy Vela, our assistant vice president, created a workflow that bridges the gap between the program and fulfillment. Her workflow makes it easy for member service reps to access products and offers with a few clicks rather than having to log on to four or five different programs."
Added Jenkins: "No ability is more important to a credit union's success than cross-selling products and services. Whenever a member accesses your credit union's services, there is a 'golden moment,' regardless of service channel, to interact with that member. Next is our least-expensive delivery message, other than e-mail, and people don't always pay attention to e-mail. It helps us get out messages pretty fast."
Nevada Federal serves 90,000 members through 26 branches in the Las Vegas area and also serves nearby Nellis Air Force Base. It competes with nearly 90 financial institutions for member wallet share.
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LAS VEGAS — A look at NEXT Channel Account Services
- Visa Pre-Approval Promotion. Nevada Federal reported it established over 3,400 new Visa Credit Cards from March to June 2000 from NEXT, approximately 1,400 were from Marketing (direct mailers).
- Visa Pre-Approval Promotion. NFCU said teller-only branches achieved higher total loan results than its regular branches.
- E-Statements. NFCU established 1,250 new users.
- Checking Accounts: NFCU established 48 new checking accounts.
- Investments. NFCU referred 136 members to its Investment Services and established 23 new investment accounts.
- 1st Mortgages. NFCU referred 102 members for a 1st Mortgage and established 20 new 1st Mortgage loans.
- Auto Refi promotion (B & C). Of 60 submitted new loan applications,14 were approved.
NEXT Channel ATM
- Visa Pre-approval promotion. NFCU had 638 members respond "YES and 228 came in the branch to complete the fulfillment.
- Auto Refi promotion. NFCU had 441 members respond "YES" and 9 loans approved.
- 1st Mortgage. NFCU had 1,056 members respond "YES" and 14 new 1st mortgage loans as a result.
Best Practices CUJ 2009
CU: Nevada Federal
Best Practice: Cross Sales Vendor: Fiserv
