Text Messaging for Credit Unions: The Sales Use Case

Three compelling reasons to adopt an SMS platform

The numbers are convincing. Ninety percent of consumers want to use text messaging to communicate with businesses. In the U.S. alone, 8 billion text messages are sent every day. In response to this trend, many industries — including financial services, retail, travel, and pharma — have jumped on the bandwagon to provide text messaging services.

 What about credit unions? By offering both members and prospects a convenient way to interact with their brand, credit unions would improve client acquisition rates and build loyalty among their clients.

 Previously, our first article in a planned three-part series made the case for text messaging for marketing. The article you are reading now covers sales, and our final article will address service and contact center-related messages.

 Let’s explore three of the biggest reasons for text message adoption. The first one is the most critical, so we will give it the most attention.

1. You understand the value of a text messaging platform, but you need clarity and guidance to ensure that you are TCPA-compliant. The TCPA regulates all text messages that are transmitted using an “auto-dialer.” Such messages that introduce an ad or are sent for a marketing or promotional purpose generally require “prior express written consent” with certain mandatory disclosures. Our previous article covers this in great detail with ways of obtaining prior express written consent.

However, the FCC – the agency that implements the TCPA – has said that text messages sent immediately in response to a request from a consumer do not require written consent. Specifically, in a 2015 Order, the FCC said that “[A] one-time text sent in response to a consumer’s request for information does not violate the TCPA or the Commission’s rules so long as it (1) is requested by the consumer; (2) is a one-time only message sent immediately in response to a specific consumer request; and (3) contains only the information requested by the consumer with no other marketing or advertising information.” You should always consult with your own lawyer, but as we read this statement, it permits businesses to send requested information via text based on verbal consent. For example, at a corporate tabling event, you might offer to send a prospect more information about the benefits of joining your credit union. If that prospect agrees verbally to receive that information, and you text the information right away in a single text without including any additional promotional content - you have met the standard for consent.

However, in this scenario, you must be careful; a verbal consent doesn’t mean you have obtained permission to bombard the prospect with messages. To take advantage of the FCC’s exception to the “prior express written consent” requirement, you must be patient. Send the requested message immediately and then wait. If your prospect does not respond, you must refrain from spamming them. On the other hand, if your prospect responds and a conversation begins, you are free to engage by exchanging multiple texts if you stay within the FCC’s one-to-one texting limitations.

Let’s take the example of a prospect entering a branch to open an account. The prospect also says he might be interested in taking out a car loan but lacks the time to pursue it during that visit. In such a situation, your branch teller or relationship manager could offer to send more details via a text message. After receiving the prospect’s verbal consent, you send a text message, such as the following: 

Hi (NAME)[1] . Per your request for information on car loans, our standard car loan rates are X% for X years, but we might be able to offer you a better deal if you refinance your mortgage with us. Looking forward to your reply.

Now, if the member doesn’t reply, you should not follow-up via text. [1] 

However, if he does reply, feel free to continue the conversation. Just remember, only respond and then stop; do not initiate the conversation.

At a tabling event, the best practice is put out a sign-in sheet with columns for first and last names and mobile number. By obtaining that information, you have met the standard for written consent. 

2. You don’t know nearly enough about what your members need and when they need it. Selling successfully requires building relationships. There are no shortcuts; take the time and effort to get to know prospects and members. Understand their needs – and, most importantly, when those needs arise, formulate offers to meet them. Timing is critical.

As a credit union, you face challenges in this area. The knowledge of the financial products your members need is limited. To upsell or cross-sell, you must know not only the need but also the exact time of the need. For example, a member might be looking to buy his first home, but you won’t know that unless he tells you. The ability to discern this information will differentiate you from your competitors.

3. The poor response rate to phone calls and emails is unacceptable. If you rely on cold phone calls, most of your calls will go to voicemail. Consumers rarely answer calls from phone numbers they don’t recognize, making outbound calls inefficient. Even if a member has requested information, he is still unlikely to take your call.

So, how do you grab a consumer’s time and attention? One alternative is email, but it has its own drawbacks. Often, people take a long time to respond if they respond at all. Finally, they might miss your email, buried in a queue of other emails that they have deemed non-essential. The average office worker receives 121 emails per day and sends 40 work-related emails.

The data-driven solution is text messaging. Texts have a 99% open rate, and 95% will be read within 3 minutes of being sent. The statistics don’t lie: Most people prefer text messaging over any other form of communication. Because it is also perceived as much more personal, text messaging gives you the best opportunity to build a relationship, one that will make you privy to major events in a client’s life that create the immediate need for financial services. What’s more, when you’ve built a relationship with someone, that person is much more likely to reach out to you when he needs something. You’ve built trust, which is an invaluable currency in business. Combine that trust with a convenient and widely deployed communication method — texting — and you’ve won the battle.

Text messaging is the future of Sales

Outbound calls and emails are ineffective as relationship builders. But text messaging allows you to cultivate relationships, and foster brand loyalty by using the form of communication that consumers overwhelmingly prefer: texting. Text messaging will increase member acquisition and retention rates. 

We hope this article helped to clarify the compliance challenge that credit unions face. After you’ve cleared that hurdle, which can be daunting, adopting a text messaging platform would dramatically improve the “open” and response rates of your client communication. And, as a result, you will learn the needs of your clients – at precisely the right times – to better service them. In the next article, we’ll explore the customer service use case.

DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers, and this article should not be relied upon as legal advice. Always consult your attorneys before implementing any marketing campaign, whether by email, phone, fax or text.