I'm not exactly certain that MLK was thinking about data transformation when he said this, but it certainly applies. As all 50 states emerge from the lockdown, the world is a very different place than when the lights were turned off and the doors locked. With nearly 20% of the US population unemployed, the members' needs have greatly changed. Now is a golden moment for credit unions to leverage their robust data and help their members!
Here is a short Q and A to help credit unions navigate the members' current financial condition.
Where to start?
Start with the end destination in mind, the members.
How to identify my members' needs?
Your members will tell you. Or, more likely, their data will.
What do they need and want right now?
Money and safety?
Money - do they have enough of it? They want easy access to their money and how to manage it
Safety - their money is safe, and the ways they interact with the credit union are safe. As many credit unions are spending time preparing to re-open a physical branch, the big question is, should you? Members have just been trained to use the online options, and they may like it.
How to identify my members' money needs?
Look toward your data.
Transaction activity holds the key to member behavior and needs. Their recent spending behavior will show what is really important to them.
How to begin to think about data when so much else seems to be a priority?
Start small. Select a member problem, such as "how do I identify members who have received relief pay? Or unemployment or has payroll stopped?
Where is this information found?
Transaction data.
How quickly can I accesses it
As quickly as your BI or Analytics team can find the data and draft a report.
What do we do with the information we get?
Start solving the member's problem. It may involve creating a new process or product.
Congratulations! - you just started your data journey!! Whoo Hoo
It may have been small, but it is essential to start! Now is a perfect time to remind members how credit unions have always had and always will have their best interest in mind. That they are a true member-first organization, not a profit first.
Next up: Solve the next member problem.
Looking for more?
Leveraging your robust credit union data to improving your members' lives is now more important than ever, but resources are uncertain.
We are offering data education sessions to build a solid foundation on all the concepts we have found successful in leveraging data to help members. Sessions are being held every Wednesday from now until the end of July.
Topics include:
Data strategy
Data governance
Data maturity
Data consumption
Member - Centric Data Use Cases
And more.
Here is what recent data education participants said.
"It was helpful to see the 7 elements of data strategy and realize that the CU has been doing them, just in a very informal way."
"I loved it when you explained how data governance should be managed into small digestible use cases.
That made it reasonable and not so huge."
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Hailed as a "must-have book," It cuts through techno-jargon and translates data transformation concepts into a playbook filled with real-world examples, assessment guides, and other tools needed to reduce member friction, analyze actual competition, and identify disruption to improve the lives of its members and gain competitive advantage