Once upon a time, people opened an account with a financial institution and stayed with it throughout their financial lives. In today's increasingly connected online world, financial institutions are struggling to retain and keep up with those same consumers. Account holders used to stay with their financial institution out of loyalty. But now, those same account holders can easily move to a new financial institution just by swiping across a screen. So, how can your financial institution fight to hold their attention — and their business? Tools like in-app messaging and mobile check deposit may be just what you’re looking for.

Competition for member engagement

In the past, people have had one primary financial institution. They opened an account and stayed there forever. Whether a bank or a credit union, that institution usually provided most of the account holder's overall financial needs. The institution was a one-stop shop for savings, checking, mortgages, credit cards, and other essential financial services. Today, that is simply no longer the case. Clients can find online banks, and phone apps that invest their spare change and can do it with just a simple Google search and an online application.

In other words, offering a solid online presence and great digital services is no longer an option, it is a survival requirement. Your account holders will stay with you for a while based on long-term loyalty, but eventually, some financial institution will offer more personalized and relevant service. At that point, if you can't match or exceed the other institution's engaging offerings, you will lose your account holders.

Traditional financial institutions have had to adapt to this new digital and full-service world. Decades ago, credit unions had to change, learning how to create checking accounts. Contrast that with today's reality where no one can compete unless they offer in-app messaging and mobile check deposits. Smaller financial institutions have had to find ways to engage and retain their account holders. The most successful embrace the new world and focus on providing successful outcomes as the pathway to account holder retention.

Delight account holders with tools like mobile check deposit

So how can you make your account holders so happy with your financial institution that they will never want to leave? You can‘t simply give a new account holder the online equivalent of a toaster and hope for the best. Instead, you must actively work to engage your account holders. You have to leave them so delighted with your services and benefits that they will never think of leaving. The good news is that there are several potentially successful strategies available to you to make this happen.

For instance, can you offer the convenience of mobile check deposit? You might offer your longer-term or higher value account holders fee waivers for certain services, or you might offer packaged services at discounts. Consider offering loyalty programs and rewards to those who continually maintain their accounts in good standing. Each time an account holder uses your debit or credit card, you can add points to their loyalty account. And then, ensure that those points can be exchanged for things of real value, whether it is travel points or actual money added to their accounts.

You can also use in-app messaging like Larky nudge® to give your account holders notifications focused on their financial interests, needs and experiences. Similarly, Larky can provide lock screen notifications to your members based on their specific needs and location. You can delight your members by giving them the information they need and want right now.

Finally, you need to compete with the big guys. The services you offer must be as simple and robust as those of the large financial institutions if you want to compete with them.

Let Larky nudge® and its in-app messaging help

Larky nudge® can help you delight your account holders by offering them communications tailored to their unique needs and wants. You can also surprise them with right-time/right-place offers for things they didn’t know they wanted or needed yet. Larky nudge® takes everything you already know about your account holders and uses it to enhance their experience with you. In an increasingly impersonal online world, your account holders will see and believe that you know them and care about them and their business. By focusing on the account holders’ needs, wants, and history, nudge® helps you keep your arms around your account holders.

Let Larky nudge® become your partner and you will be able to provide high-impact new functionality to account holders. Larky can help you rapidly embrace ever-changing technology and drive engagement with your mobile online platform.

Let us help you foster your account holders' delight today.

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