Community Financial Institutions are Moving Towards Hyper-Personalization in 2023

​Craig McLaughlin

Finalytics.ai powers segment of one digital experiences for community financial institutions. The company predicts that in 2023, more community financial institutions will invest in their digital capabilities to create segment of one digital experiences for prospective and current members/customers that go beyond simple personalization and broad segmentation. To do so, community financial institutions will:
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• Access multiple data streams to deliver real-time digital engagement – Going forward, more community financial institutions will use modern technologies that analyze multiple data streams, including internal data (e.g., transactional data) and external data (e.g., big data), and assemble content in an actionable format, allowing the real-time delivery of content and services. Until now, megabanks and FinTechs have been the real-time players, while many community financial institutions have relied on dated transactional data to engage with their accountholders, presenting the same content to all users and/or offering services that users already have or no longer need. By using new technologies that leverage thousands of data points, community financial institutions will be able to make accurate predictions about their accountholders and prospects’ wants and needs, in real-time, giving them a competitive edge in the market.
  
  
• Work on hyper-personalizing the digital experience – Although 76% of all member/customer interactions happen online, many community financial institutions have been struggling to humanize the digital experience. This often leads to frustration, dissatisfaction, and users eventually switching to other financial institutions. By leveraging multiple data sources containing a variety of attributes (e.g., location, age, gender, behavior, current products, relationships with other financial institutions, digital habits, intentionality etc.), community financial institutions will increasingly be able to create experiences that speak specifically to the needs of a current or prospective member/customer at that moment in time.

For example, by knowing what university a prospective member/customer is attending, a community financial institution can suggest promotional content specifically targeting students at that university with dynamic messaging designed to increase the likelihood that the student will open an account. This hyper-personalized experience will improve acquisition and retention metrics, as well as conversion rates and wallet share.

• Maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) – Community financial institutions will continue to implement AI to help them humanize their digital experience in ways they could never do in the branch. However, it is important not to invest in AI just because it’s trendy. To be effective, AI should be applied in areas it can have the most impact. When choosing the right AI technology, community financial institutions should: gauge their members/customers’ and institution’s needs and set clear goals (e.g., increased efficiencies, better customer service, hyper-personalized member experience, etc.), use return on investment (ROI) models created to consider the full scope of the technology’s impact, put together a strategy and budget, and analyze the AI vendor market to determine what provider suits the institutions’ needs, goals, and culture.

​Craig McLaughlin, CEO and Co-founder of Finalytics.ai, says, “Leading community financial institutions are turning the corner into the future, converting data into insights, and delivering relational, rather than transactional experiences, on digital channels. In 2023, the winning financial institutions will be the ones improving how they engage with their members/customers and prospects even before they log in to their digital banking. The next chapter for community financial institutions hinges on their ability to create the segment of one experiences accountholders and prospects have come to expect from digital providers of products and services.”

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