Fort Financial Credit Union Elevates Digital Member Engagement Using Push Notification Technology

• Mar 14, 2023
• By Kurt Schaldenbrand

  Keeping members engaged within the digital channels they use is a key priority for many credit unions today. This makes fintech partnerships a critical opportunity for credit unions to expand digital banking capabilities, elevate member engagement strategies and maintain a competitive edge. To further member communication through digital-first channels, Fort Financial Credit Union (Fort Financial) has partnered with fintech provider Larky since 2019 to leverage tailored nudge� push notifications delivered directly through its mobile banking app. Fort Financial has substantially increased its member engagement rates by reaching customers through this mobile outreach tool. Over a three month-period, Fort Financial?s opt-in push notifications sent to members received an average tap rate of 4.25%, which exceeds the engagement rates typically garnered by traditional outreach channels (e.g., email, website visits, banner ads, etc.). By distributing push notifications, Fort Financial aimed to offer its members a compelling mobile feature that provided a competitive advantage. The Fort Financial team noted that this digital outreach strategy wasn?t offered by competing local credit unions and saw partnering with Larky as a compelling differentiator that could set the credit union apart, as well as an opportunity to better support customers and grow its membership base. Josh Rice, IT Core Operations Manager with Fort Financial, said, ?Larky?s nudge� messaging has been integral in enabling us to create a truly unique banking experience for our members. The platform?s ability to distribute notifications using time-based and geolocation technology to reach customers at the right time and place has vastly streamlined our member communication efforts.? Partnering with Larky enables Fort Financial to take advantage of several features that provide opportunities to customize messages for its members. By using Larky?s segmenting capabilities, Fort Financial can divide members into distinct messaging groups based on their unique needs and financial habits. In addition, Fort Financial also leverages the push notification platform?s campaign options to deliver a series of different messages that continuously inform members about relevant products and services, financial literacy tips, community events, local business deals, security alerts, etc. ?Out of all the vendors we have collaborated with to complete mobile banking app integrations, Larky was the easiest with which to work,? Rice added. ?The Larky team is dedicated to helping us serve our customers and has been incredibly helpful in providing the analytical data we need to efficiently retarget members with different marketing campaigns,? Larky recently released its second issue of the Larky Lowdown, a quarterly report that centers on push notification use within the financial services industry and shares intriguing data insights on the impact of this unique communication channel. The second report iteration focuses on the different messages that financial institutions use and their engagement rates by category. ?Financial institutions can leverage push notification technology in a myriad of different ways, and we highly encourage our clients to use a wide range of messages to effectively engage their account holders,? said Kurt Schaldenbrand, Chief Technology Officer and VP of Product at Larky. ?Our report explores the varying message categories commonly used by financial institutions, which includes Brand Awareness, New Product Promotion, Current Product Expansion, Operational Announcements and Community Events.? As seen via tap-through rates, several push notification message categories indicated strong engagement results. New Product Promotion push notifications (e.g. car loans, mortgages) typically receive the strongest engagement rates ? 31% of the messages distributed by financial institutions fall within this category. More than 25% of messages within this category earn exceptional tap-through rates of 20% and above. In addition, about 25% of Current Product Expansion messages (e.g., increasing existing debit card usage) also earn outstanding engagement results ? these messages make up 5% of the messages sent by credit unions to their members. When using Larky?s nudge� push notifications, Fort Financial has seen solid engagement results in response to their promotional messages that align with these findings. For example, the credit union created a push campaign to promote a new credit card introductory offer, which earned strong engagement among members. Initially, these notifications achieved a tap rate of 17.9% after the first distribution of push notifications, a high engagement rate in comparison to other communication methods. To distribute a second round of the campaign and continue strengthening tap rates, the credit union worked to adjust messaging to gently repeat the promotion to members. After sending out additional notifications, engagement increased with the campaign?s message to 21.2%, a significant increase achieved without spamming members or incurring any additional costs. An additional Larky Lowdown report finding indicated that Operational Announcements (e.g., special branch hours or closings, security alerts) make up 19% of messages distributed by financial institutions, and this category receives mixed tap-through rates ? nearly half of messages sent earn engagement rates of at least 10% or more. The responses from Fort Financial?s members also support this data as several operational announcement messages earned varied engagement responses. A branch opening announcement received a tap rate of 3.8% and an update sharing the credit union?s new website launch garnered a rate of 3.9%. However, when the credit union sent a notification concerning a debit card scam notice, members responded at a rate of more than 4%. Any notifications regarding fraud risk gained substantial attention from members, regardless of whether it was a time-sensitive message related to their account or otherwise. For example, a push notification promoting a Cyber Monday blog on identity theft from the credit union earned a high tap rate of 12.7%. Push notification technology delivers an effective credit union communication tool to bolster engagement among members by reaching them on their most used banking channel ? their mobile devices. Communicating with members through mobile-first outreach methods enables credit unions to seamlessly capture their attention while providing meaningful messages that create more impactful digital banking experiences. About Author: Kurt Schaldenbrand, Chief Technology Officer and VP of Product Executive Biography |www.nudge.larky.com/ Kurt Schaldenbrand is the CTO and VP of Product of Larky, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company that is the market leader of consumer engagement technology that empowers financial institutions to proactively communicate and engage with their audience at the ideal time and place. Schaldenbrand has over 30 years of experience designing, developing and delivering commercial-grade software and technology products that delight customers. He is skilled in understanding complex business or end-user problems, translating that into a solution with a clean, purposeful design, guiding product development into a successful release, and evolving the result through continual feedback from internal and external customers.

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