Thinking Digital, But Unsure About How to Do It Right?

Sponsored by Accella

Consumers want intuitive, seamless, digital experiences in every aspect of their lives—and their expectation is no different with their credit union. In keeping with this, your website should be viewed as your biggest, most profitable branch.  

But if you and your team are struggling with the “how”—how to best digitize your offerings and create great member experiences—here are four steps to get started. 

Step #1: Complete These Digital Hygiene Fundamentals

Before you strategize for the future, the fundamentals of digital marketing must be in place. Data is a powerful storyteller. Digital marketing starts with goals and ends with metrics, so you need to be prepared with a baseline. 

Digital Hygiene Checklist 

• Set up goals in Google Analytics
• Implement inbound URL tracking
• Track cookies
• Check your SEO for errors that hurt your visibility and performance
• Map out all exit points from your website to third party vendors and track those conversions
• Review your mobile experience—can mobile users complete critical tasks? 

Step #2: Define What Your Members Want and Need

Before we strategize, we empathize. 

Starting thinking like a member. When you truly understand your customers’ emotions and needs, your digital experiences deliver exponential value. 

A huge piece of achieving this is journey mapping. 

Journey mapping is the process by which your entire team sits down, puts themselves in your customers’ shoes (read: Be empathetic!), and maps their experiences. This could include a map for each persona and potentially even each product. 

Step #3: Build Your Digital Strategy

Digital is complex, but your strategy doesn’t need to be. Here are some dos and don’ts for building a strategy that works hard for you.

Do

• Start with your credit union’s strategic plan and goals
• Create a digital vision statement that lays out how digital will support your credit union’s mission
• Show the member’s journey
• Identify three to five strategic focus areas and their measurable goals
• Develop a 3/6/12 month plan for progress tracking

Don’t

• Define specific user experiences—this is a guide, not a plan
• Get into technical weeds—keep it code free!
• Add your digital channel plans in detail

Step #4: Share, Share, Share!

There’s only a finite amount of time, people and resources available for all projects at your company—how do you convince leaders to funnel them into digital?

Start by aligning your strategy with the needs of many departments. If your strategy helps sales, IT, and member support achieve their goals, you’ll have built-in momentum for change.

So, don’t wait until your strategy is complete to get input from and socialize it with your peers. Let’s get everyone cheering for digital!

Alyssa Hulka is VP/digital strategy at Accella, Severna Park, Maryland. For more than 15 years, Hulka has worked with leaders in the financial industry to shape and accelerate their digital marketing transformations. She collaborates with marketers and IT to craft digital strategies, define the vision for digital products and reimagine user experiences. With a focus on building meaningful connections between brands and consumers, she specializes in driving forward innovative digital experiences.