Those waiting for an organ match can be waiting several years to receive their transplant. In fact, the average wait time for a kidney is 3 to 5 years. There can be ups and downs. Hope when possible matches come up, only to once again be let down and start all over again. In worst case scenarios, folks never end up receiving what they so desperately need.
While less life and death, customers out there may have had their hopes raised, only to be let down by their financial institutions time and again. Years of overcharges and fees, marketing campaigns that completely miss the mark and often feel misleading, may have customers seeking elsewhere. But frequently they’re stuck, or at least feel that way, with their institution.
Offering users personalized insights or advice at the right time can make them feel valued by their institution. Institutions have access to user data that communicates so much about their life events and values. So there is no reason they can’t market highly personalized offers. When users finally receive the relevant offers, advice, and insights they deserve, they will feel not only understood by their institution, but excited about the relevant calls to action they are receiving. And, everybody loves learning about a good deal!
While we may all assume that, if you were in need of a transplant, surely your closest family members would be able to give you their kidney. Well, many times that isn’t the case. For a wide variety of reasons, despite being willing to donate, after running through a whole gamut of medical tests, most just aren’t a match. According to an analysis of 2014 data, about 59% of the time, kidney donors are post-life donors. Which leaves you trying to think of creative ways to reach out to folks, even complete strangers. (Our FinGoal CEO learned his sons’ teacher needed a kidney transplant from a neighborhood Facebook group, no less).
Today, financial institutions are looking for creative ways to keep their users engaged with their platforms. When FI’s have all the data available to create personalized banking experiences, they can come up with the most creative offers and informed marketing outreach efforts. In understanding their users, they can suggest offers for relevant loans, a savings account that best fits their needs, or a card with the perks that compliment their lifestyle.
Donating an organ is no easy feat; and that doesn’t even take into account the surgery and recovery. A prospective donor is run through every medical test possible to ensure they are able to give without adversely impacting the donor’s health. Additional steps are taken to ensure optimal matching between the donor and recipient. In one such test, the donor and recipient blood are combined in a centrifuge to determine if the recipient's blood fights back (bad sign) or they jive (good sign). Heck they even check to make sure you don’t have allergies to things like tape and rabbits (truth). As a perk, receiving a green light to donate, assures you’re as healthy as possible.
Just like you’re not going to swap organs with just anyone, you shouldn't be lobbing offers left and right at your customers or you may be facing rejection from the recipient.
When users know that their institution has access to all their financial data, and still fails to give the right offers, users can feel like their FI really missed the mark. Transaction data signals a lot about a person – recent life events, values, and preferences. When you have the means to offer a highly personalized experience, and you don’t, users simply feel let down. Every digital banking experience should look unique from the user, and the individualized advice they receive should be reflective of their specific spending.
We can all read the stats on how many people are on the transplant list awaiting an organ donation. And only a small part of that can be fulfilled by live donors – kidney being the most common. But that’s all it is to us, a number. Behind each of those numbers is a person, a story, and a life lived with infinite impacts on the world around them.
Every customer at a financial institution is a person with a story. It would be easy for banks to continue giving generic advice to users on their financial health. After all, that’s what banks have been doing for years. But if users were given the offers and advice that would truly help them to gain financial breathing room, they would feel more like a human than a customer. When banks focus on building financially healthy customers, everybody thrives. For users who can turn targeted and personalized suggestions into savings, product utilization is bound to increase.
Do you know the costs of a live donor transplant surgery (which contains two surgeries in one)? I’m sure we could all make exorbitant guesses. The donor recipient’s health insurance covers the full medical costs for the donor. Why? Because the alternative would be the costs of 20+ years on dialysis and continuing medical complications that arise from kidney failure. It’s all about the ROI.
Banks want members for life. And when users are given a highly personalized financial experience, they will be much more likely to stick with their FI than when they get uninformed, irrelevant offers. Lifetime value is one of the most important banking metrics for strategic planning and marketing initiatives. Increased personalization and LTV has a direct correlation, and the user-bank relationship becomes stronger and more profitable, as a result. It’s a win-win. Users feel valued and understood, while the institution profits, in the long run.
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