JMFA: Technology a critical tool for increased profitability
By Steve Swanston, JMFA Executive VP of Sales
Sustaining growth in the credit union industry has never been more challenging. Revenues are leveling off. Competition is intense. Regulatory compliance is putting a strain on resources. The growing use of the Internet, and more knowledgeable members are forcing credit unions to identify new and better ways to keep members, find new members and service member needs.
To help battle all these pressures, technology is fast becoming a critical tool. Credit unions that invest wisely in technologies that automate and improve the member experience will see a positive return on their invested capital. A few key points to consider…
1. A high quality financial management platform is at the heart of a smarter and faster operation. It takes more than guessing to make profitable business decisions. Maximizing your bottom line requires powerful and flexible tools. Turning presumption into precision allows management to make informed business decisions. Selecting the right applications for your financial management platform is critical. Be sure that any financial applications your credit union considers provides a comprehensive set of features and capabilities and that it is designed to interact easily with other widely used software applications – such as your credit union’s CRM software.
2. Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a must. CRM software can give credit unions a more insightful view into member behavior. Through analysis of the member database at the household level, a credit union will be able to identify major categories of household relationships and desired service levels.
For years, credit unions have talked about cross-selling, but the real key to cross-selling is being able to determine what new offer will motivate which individual members to buy a particular product or service. A good CRM software program can empower employees to make informed decisions and ultimately provide superior member service. The current trend of embedding analytics into all of a credit union’s operational systems will only continue to grow as the impact of analytics is realized.
3. Technology can be used to provide systems that let your internal users communicate and work efficiently – and without paper – across geographic distances effortlessly, with low administrative overhead. Putting the right information at the right place at the right time empowers employees to make the right decisions. And the right decisions make your credit union perform at optimum levels and make your members happy.
Making wise investments in technology is necessary to maintain your competitive edge.
Being able to work smarter, faster and with more information at your fingertips translate into improved member service and a more profitable bottom line.
About John M. Floyd & Associates
John M. Floyd & Associates (JMFA) is a profitability and performance improvement consulting firm and a leading provider of overdraft privilege programs serving more than 2,000 financial institutions in 49 states and Central America. JMFA is also recognized for training, account acquisition, executive placement and earnings enhancement programs, as well as product, service, pricing and technology improvement consulting. As a direct result of our programs JMFA has helped thousands of clients dramatically improve their performance and bottom line. To learn more about JMFA, visit www.JMFA.com or call 800-809-2307.