Much like credit unions,one of the most important aspects of my job is learning from our member owners how best we can meet their needs. And just as credit unions frequently hold special events to help educate their members on a variety of topics to help improve those members' lives, so do we. I like to think of it as "ideas in action," giving our member owners the opportunity to see what we're working on, as well as connecting them with business leaders and innovation practitioners. Here are some of those ideas in action:
Going Mobile
One topic I'm always interested to learn more about is how technology is affecting member relationships. Robb Best, senior advisor for cognitive strategy for Elkay Corporation, has also wondered about the effect smartphones may have on relationships and face-to-face interactions. So, I was especially eager to hear his talk on "The Brain and Your Business," which gave clues to how we can engage members, whether in person or via digital devices. Best is the creator of the "Science of Selling," a sales/marketing system based on the newest findings in neuroscience. His blog, Mindframe, is packed with information on human ingenuity and the workings of our brains.
In the financial industry, we've seen huge growth in mobile banking since the iPhone made its debut nine years ago, with add-on "sticky" apps for money management and related functions that are delighting consumers. A 2015 KPMG Global Mobile Banking Report noted mobile is now the largest channel for most financial institutions, as measured by transaction volume. Earlier this year, Javelin forecast that 80% of U.S. adults will use mobile banking by 2020. That's a good thing, bringing time-savings and easy access to consumers and saving operational costs for financial institutions … provided we don't lose our close member ties.
Keeping Our Wits About Us
Staying in touch could be a challenge. Most consumers take in about 12 hours of information a day. But, according to Robb Best, we'll only retain about 10% of it over the next 24-36 hours. And it's no wonder: The average tech-connected consumer receives 100 emails a day, spends 32 hours a month online, and texts up to 30 times an hour.
The information overload and interruptions we cope with each day can cause us to lose our concentration, but our brains have a coping mechanism—"zoning out." Best says it's natural for our minds to wander for a few seconds or minutes at a time because it's the brain's way to save energy. Think of it as a screen saver or your computer's sleep mode. Ideally, for every 15 minutes of hard learning, we'd give our brains a 10-minute rest.
Further, with each bit of knowledge we take in, our brains are subconsciously deciding whether to store it in short-term or long-term memory. Important dates like weddings or kids' birthdays go in long-term memory, but scraps of data like phone numbers, baseball stats, or product info? Not so much. The fact is, we can only store about seven bits of information at a time in short-term memory.
However, there are ways we can remember more: Taking notes improves retention by about 20%, but we can hardly ask members to do that! For those exchanges, help them stay focused by providing attractive visual cues—regardless of the channels they use. Best says visuals can aid memory by up to 65%!
Staying on Members' Minds
Still, we don't have much time to get key points across before members' minds stray in another direction. A 2014 Oracle/YouGov study backs up Best's research, finding that you only have about 30 seconds to get your key points across before consumers tune out or hit "delete." And Microsoft's 2015 research says it's less than that; today's average attention span is only 8-10 seconds … about the same as a goldfish!
Best says most marketing messages go to short-term memory, so to have consumer staying power, what we say or write needs to be clear, concise and geared to members' interests—with key points they're likely to remember. One way is to write like we speak, with a casual, personalized tone and easy-to-understand "sound bites."
To keep members focused on your product or service, it's important to have a solid strategy for holding their attention, whether in person, by phone, via mobile device or through online content. Most of all, know the key points you want to get across and stick to them.
Relating to Members
Best suggests three ways to do this:
- Follow the rule of threes—People usually can remember three key points from a presentation or after viewing promotional copy. Make sure to plan out what you want to say and stick to the theme. But don't make the same point three times in a row; that's just annoying. Instead, state a key point, and move on to a couple of supplemental features or benefits. In person, repeat each point toward the middle and end of your talk. In print, twice is often enough.
- Offer binary choices—We tend to work in binary mode, preferring only two options at a time. That's why optometrists always pair choices during eye examinations. ("Which is clearer, No. 1 or 2? No. 3 or 4?"). Consumers are easily overwhelmed when presented with too many choices at once. If you offer six types of mortgages, show your member two types of loans at a time, eliminating options she doesn't choose.
- Think minimalist—Use a streamlined approach to copywriting, with short chunks and eye-catching graphics instead of dense blocks of texts. And provide links to bulleted details rather than including long explanations. Finally, for in-person presentations, add a few (but not too many) visual aids. Experts say small display charts work better than slide decks for one-to-one talks.
Finally, Best says our optimal brain time is 10 a.m. to 12 noon. But our ability to make good decisions erodes at night. Hmmm … maybe that's why people buy silly gadgets when watching late-night TV!
Jeff Kline is CEO of MEMBERS Development Company, Overland Park, Kan.
