People have a lot of inertia. Once settled into a financial institution, convincing someone to switch is not easy.
A number of years ago we did a survey to find out why people switch. The most common reason given was moving to a new location. With the shift to digital banking this should not be a consideration, but it seems people still want local access to their financial institution.
The importance of this may diminish over time, but for now, credit unions looking to expand membership should consider:
- Establish connections with moving companies. Maybe a welcome basket?
- Same with real estate agents
- Same with apartment complexes and HOA’s
- Targeted ads on home and apartment finding websites
- Targeted ads on Google for people searching for new homes, apartments for rent, moving companies and related services in your territory.
This can be flipped for retention. If transactions appear related to moving it’s time to educate the member on how easy it is to be remote and stay a member.
Doing what others aren’t can make you stand out. As Apple once said “Think different.”