Essential Strategies for Your Credit Union to Compete in the Mobile Space

by Chris Steffes, Remote Services Consultant

According to AlixPartners research, consumers view mobile as a key expectation when evaluating financial institutions. 48% of smartphone/tablet users who switched financial institutions in the past year said mobile played a significant role in their decision to change. Moreover, consumers who change their financial institution move toward large or national institutions that aggressively invest and promote digital banking initiatives.

Mobile banking adopters of all ages prove to have stronger relationships with their primary institution, as you can see below:

AVERAGE NUMBER OF PRODUCTS AT THE PRIMARY BANK, Q2 2013

Age	18-25	26-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65 and above
Mobile Banking Adopters	3.3	3.8	4.0	3.7	4.0	4.8
Non-Mobile Banking Adopters	2.6	3.0	3.1	3.1	3.4	3.3

Source: Mobile Financial Services Tracking Study, AlixPartners, 2014.

Moreover, digital banking adopters are far more connected to their financial institution. According to the digital-only bank Simple, clients interact with the bank an average of 2.4 times a day.

Amidst this data, what does your credit union do to compete in the mobile space to aggressively attract new members? As consumer demands continue to increase, it’s imperative to develop a culture of innovation and a strategy to support your mobile channel.

Four essential ingredients are needed to compete in today’s demanding environment. Credit unions of every asset size can effectively develop and promote a vibrant mobile channel by following this simple recipe:

• STEP ONE: Seek to understand your members’ needs and expectations. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups are powerful tactics that provide the foundation for your strategy.
  
• STEP TWO: Create a business case to invest in innovation.
  Your innovation strategy should give equal weight to technology and marketing, as plans to cleverly promote your mobile channel is as important as the technology you provide. Your due diligence from Step One will support your plans for future growth.
  
• STEP THREE: Build a digital innovation road map. Base your development efforts on features that are relevant to members, and provide maximum convenience.
  
• STEP FOUR: Develop a flexible mobile approach to technology.
  Choose vendors that not only have a pipeline of innovation within their mobile solution, but also actively seek integration partnerships with other technology vendors. This will expand your options for future member offerings.

Developing a clear, member-led mobile program, selecting strong partners, and investing in strategic innovation will enable you to differentiate yourselves from the competition and stay relevant in the market.

Looking for a new mobile banking solutions? CU Solutions Group has got one: Mobile Finance Manager.