We live in an age where nearly everything is available on the internet. Companies like Amazon® and Favor™ will deliver any number of essentials to your door in a matter of hours.
In the wake of these innovations, more and more consumers are expecting a seamless retail experience catered to their unique needs — and that requires adopting new technology. But for community banks and credit unions, changes in process can come with a steep learning curve, which often becomes a major pain point for frontline staff.
Technology Can Create Challenges
New technology means training service representatives on how to use unfamiliar software and continually retraining as updated versions are introduced. And if the goal of new technology is more efficient selling and cross-selling, the hurdle becomes even greater.
So how do you provide the experience consumers are looking for while simultaneously improving the process for your service representatives? By choosing intuitive technology that simplifies account opening rather than complicates it.
Help Your Team Lay The Relational Groundwork
What does your current account opening process look like? Do service representatives walk account holders through a brochure? Is cross-selling a natural part of the conversation, or is it an uncomfortable pitch that service representatives breeze through quickly…if at all?
Typically, a credit union or community bank’s front line operates in two capacities:
- They’re friendly service representatives who represent the face of the financial institution and cater to account holders’ needs
- They’re salespeople who pitch products to consumers, upselling and cross-selling when possible.
Performing both roles well is a balancing act. But without the right tools, processes can become overwhelming for both staff and consumers.
The right interface can efficiently lead both service representatives and consumers through opening accounts, while enabling the front line to cross-sell in a way that feels helpful instead of pushy. Consumers will have the power to easily choose the Kasasa account that best fits their lifestyle without navigating printed collateral.
Leverage technology that empowers your front line to function both as personable resources and savvy sales professionals who give consumers the experience they’re looking for.
Harness Technology
There are many possible methods for frontline staff to open accounts. The one we’ve seen success with is Builder™, Kasasa’s innovative selling technology.
Builder is an intuitive interface that enables community banks and credit unions to offer an interactive experience primarily driven by the consumer. It allows service representatives to walk consumers through the process of creating their ideal account while using retail best practices, so your team receives on-the-job retraining each time they use it. The end result: a front line that consistently gains more profitable account holders from the get-go and consumers who are in control of their financial decisions.
Builder offers consumers a great account opening experience for three reasons:
- It makes the process seamless — the simple interface easily guides consumers through choosing account features that best fit their unique needs.
- It enables consumers to quickly choose additional products as a natural part of the account opening process.
- It has the potential to simplify online account opening
Our partner institutions like it because it generates a definitive rise in non-interest income. They’re able to pitch non-interest income generating add-ons as a natural point of the account opening conversation.
A big part of Builder’s success with increasing non-interest income is due to how adept it is at cross-selling Kasasa Protect™, our brand of premium ID fraud prevention. Kasasa Protect offers comprehensive ID theft protection and resolution services account holders love. When included as an add-on within Builder, Kasasa Protect™ enjoys an impressive 20% attach rate and brings in an average of $4 per user per month in non-interest income.* So accounts with Kasasa Protect are that much more profitable for financial institutions from the very first day they’re opened.
Want to learn more about Kasasa®’s product and technology offerings? Visit our website.
*Results on average. Kasasa analytics, 2015. Based on an average consumer price of $8.
