Four Takes on Four 'Mega Trends'
Published May 7, 2015 8:51 AM
|
Updated June 1, 2021 1:21 PM
1 Min Read
CO-OP Financial Services' THINK15 Conference kicked off Wednesday, introducing the record 600 attendees to four key trends that credit unions can't afford to ignore. Shown above is a THINK It Out group discussion with speakers Tess Vigeland, Nir Eyal, Laurel Myers and two credit union representatives.
Samantha Paxson, CO-OP's chief marketing officer, identified the trends as: betterment, ubitech (for ubiquitous technology), helpfull (with two "l's), and local love. "These mega trends are alive today and are impacting business," said Paxson. "Trends are converging, which is why it is important to seize the now. It is a magical time for the credit union movement. The world seems to be catching up with what CUs have been all the time: local love."
Paxson said credit unions will never be trendy, because they are better than that. "We are not in one day and out the next," she said. "We are on trend. We are a movement. We need to make the most of this moment of convergence. We can better serve the needs and desires of consumers."
Mega Trend No. 1: Betterment
Everyone wants to be smarter, thinner, make more money. So it makes sense organizations that make people feel better are attractive to consumers.
Image: iStock
Mega Trend No. 2: Ubitech
Everyday technology is more deeply embedded and rooted in our lives. Tools are always at our finger tips. They're everywhere, and CUs need to be there, too.
Image: Fotolia
Mega Trend No. 3: "Helpfull"
Being as help-full as one can possibly be. When consumers tap a digital application, they expect it to load in two seconds. That is the tolerance level. That is the instant gratification from the tap of a single finger. It has caused businesses to shift.
Image: Fotolia
Mega Trend No. 4: Local love
Community still matters. The world grows more complex by the hour, but there is importance is having a mission, which makes the fact that credit unions are mission-oriented a valuable attribute.
Image: Fotolia
Tess Vigeland, CEO, of Tess Vigeland Productions and well-known host of "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio said, "Easier is not always better. When you understand and learn to leverage the four mega trends, you can seize the now. They intersect and they support each other."
Social media channels like Facebook and Twitter have changed people's day-to-day habits, said Nir Eyal, who teaches at Stanford about the intersection of psychology, technology and business.
"About 40% of what people do every day is done out of habit," said Eyal. "I believe we are on the precipice of an age where we can use habit for good. It is about the deeper psychology of habit formation."
Habits defined as things we do with little or no conscious thought are good for business when consumers have a habit of using a product or service, Eyal explained.
To increase the odds of business success, companies must understand consumer psychology, Eyal said. The "hook" is an experience designed to connect user's problem with your solution often enough that it becomes a habit. Four basic steps: trigger, action, reward, investment.
To be successful, Eyal said credit unions need to know the internal trigger the itch that drives members. "Know the external trigger to get the user to the product. What is the simplest behavior in anticipation of reward?"
Image: iStock
Laurel Myers, senior product manager at The Honest Company, Santa Monica, Calif., said her company, which makes healthy and safe consumer care products primarily aimed at new parents, is all about establishing trust.
Being "better" in business is not about having the best product in the market, she said, because the best product does not always win. Rather, it is about having a deeper connection with consumers. "You must put yourself in the consumer's shoes to identify their needs," she said.
The key, Myers suggested, is identifying a true need, and then being open to listening to the customer. Rather than relying only on surveys, Myers advised having actual conversations with customers in order to know who they and what they want. Each week the president of The Honest Company calls not only top customers, but also the most dissatisfied customers of the week.
"Listening to customers opened us up to move beyond being a 'baby company' to being a lifestyle company," she said. "Make the customers a part of the brand, that gives loyalty. We reward top customers with flowers on their birthday. We want to show we care."
Image: Fotolia
