Business Messaging, Credit Unions, and Connecting with Members

In the credit union industry, everything should come back to serving members. If you’re not doing that, then what’s the point?

There are countless ways to serve members. And with the myriad of new technologies available that aim to do just that, there’s almost no wrong place to start.

But there are some right places to start. Any technology that serves the members should be considered—and any technology that also serves the credit union should go right to the front of the line.

And that brings us to today’s Fintech Friday topic:

Business messaging for credit unions.

Let’s look at what it is, why you might want it, and how Statflo is helping credit unions connect with their members with great results.

Connecting with Members Is Hard

It’s not just difficult to know what a member wants—it’s hard to get in touch with them to find out! On a basic level:

• Email is overused. Credit unions have much better open rates than most senders, yet a good open rate is between 25–40%. From ignoring your emails to losing them in their inbox, email is a competitive channel.
• Social media is unreliable. Without touching on whether social is a good way to connect, it’s just too varied. Too many platforms, ways of engaging, and preferences. Don’t rely on social.
• Phone calls are inconvenient. Calling is seen as intrusive and inconvenient. And if it’s from a number they don’t recognize? Forget about it.

Let’s make one thing clear:

The above channels are all good. In many cases, they can be great—each has strengths that others can’t replicate.

But when it comes to simply connecting with members, one channel has them all beat.

SMS (Texting) to Reach Members

Retailers have been using business messaging to connect to their customers for years. And there’s a good reason for it:

Check your phone right now. How many unread texts do you have?

It’s almost certainly zero. And if it’s not, it’s likely lower than the number of unread emails you have in your personal inbox.

Consider these numbers:

• 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences.
• 89% of consumers want direct, two-way conversations with businesses.
• 74% of consumers say they have no unread text messages on their phone
• 95% of consumers read a text message within 3 minutes of receiving it.

Texting is immediate, reliable, and preferred. Text messages will reach your members where other media may not. Texting allows members to engage when they want. And, though texts can’t carry the volume of information that an email can, they open the opportunity for direct conversations with your members.

That’s the personalized connection that drives engagement.

How Statflo Enables SMS for Credit Unions

There are a few companies that provide business messaging for credit unions. All providers are solid and offer the same basic suite of capabilities:

• Secure, 2-way SMS messaging
• An easy-to-use, desktop-based messaging platform
• Compliance with federal regulations

But what we like about Statflo is that it goes several steps beyond the basic feature set. For example, there are more than 70 compliance laws around how businesses may message their audience. Not only does Statflo meet the highest compliance standards, they also introduce brand protection and training for users:

1. Compliance filters: Inappropriate words and phrases are blocked from being sent and received.
2. Coaching tips: Explanations of why certain words or phrases are flagged so users can replace them before hitting send.
3. Conversation starters: Statflo offers preset, personalized message templates that ensure each conversation starts off right and encourages a positive response from your member.
4. Campaign execution: Reaching out to your members at the right times and for the right reasons is key to driving engagement.
5. Expertise and training: Suggestions for best practices on effective ways to start member conversations, connecting with members at the right time, and driving engagement through texting.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s what we mean:

Ensuring outreach compliance by having safeguards in place is what makes Statflo different from other solutions. Any credit union business messaging platform will give you faster, more reliable connections to your members. And likely, when used right, they’ll all improve your collections strategy, loan close rates, and other key money-making activities.

But when it comes to representing your brand well to members, Statflo is leading the pack. That goes double for protecting your brand legally and reputationally.

Additional Resources

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