Any marketer worth their salt knows that different people want different things. And what people want isn’t entirely dictated by their income, either. No, people have different tastes, personalities, and needs as well.
So, how can you ensure that your credit union provides its members what they want? And just as importantly, how can you increase the ROI for each member?
Understanding Member Segments
No doubt you already group members into segments. Traditionally you might have grades for them, such as A members, B members, C members, and so on. And each subsequent tier represents members with less favorable levels of engagement, income, creditworthiness, etc.
It’s an interesting system in that it offers a very rough view of a member by comparing their attributes to those of their peers.
However, it’s not a perfect system. Not by any means.
Why is that?
Because categorization and segmentation are imperfect ways of understanding members! They can get you in the ballpark, but often, that’s as far as it goes. To better understand, engage, and market to members, you’ll need to make the extra effort.
How to Increase ROI for Different Member Segments
There’s no single method for increasing ROI for different member segments. If there were, you’d probably already know about it. And if we knew of a way, we’d drop everything to offer that.
But we know how to get you close!
We figure the best way to get to know your members (and the segments they’re in) is to ask them stuff. Really. Even off-topic questions can give you a better picture of the people you serve. For example, a few “getting to know you” questions can let both parties show a bit of personality:
- Does pineapple belong on pizza?
- Mac or PC?
- Should ketchup go on hot dogs?
These fun questions may not directly increase your ROI, but it never hurts to improve your non-business connections with your members. Of course, you should prioritize more pointed questions:
- How do they prefer to be communicated with?
- What kind of payments do they put on their credit card?
- Which loan terms do they prefer?
- What account options are most attractive to them?
These kinds of questions can monumentally increase your understanding of any member segment. Instead of merely seeing general banking and consuming habits from core or analytics data, you’ll learn why people in each segment do what they do.
You can then use that information to make more informed, attractive offers, services, and products.
In essence, you can curate your offers and messaging to better reach each member segment.
And that’s how to increase your ROI!
Final Thoughts
Another downside of member segments is that they’re so broad. Many analytics platforms can help you segment your members further, but that process still relies on observed behavior rather than self-reported preferences.
Surveys allow you to refine your segments into more nuanced groups.
The best part is that surveys are both cheap and easy. In fact, we offer a free NPS survey for credit unions that want to begin monitoring and improving member experience!
If you already have an MX tracking suite, subscribe to our blog! We’re full of useful advice, tips, and insights about surveys and survey strategy.
