Compliance as a Strategic Member Experience Asset?

January 20, 2020

By Darron Dunn, VP, Client Development

Something’s been on my mind since joining the ViClarity team last summer. Coming on board as VP of Client Development, I had a strong vision for how I planned to contribute. In brief, I hoped to make working with our company one of the best experiences a credit union leader could have on any given day.

Audacious? Maybe. But a totally exciting goal, in my estimation.

Of course, I’m not the only professional focused on experience today. Quite the opposite. Whether it’s referred to as UX, CX – or in the credit union space, MX – the end-user experience has become an increasingly important area of focus for nearly all brands. How people feel before, during and after interacting with a company or organization directly impacts how long they’ll maintain that relationship.

Thinking through this growing point of concentration for business got me to wondering about the MX implications of the compliance dimension. In other words, how are our clients – credit union compliance officers and their teams – impacting their cooperative’s member experience goals? Do they have a role to play in delivering loyalty-inducing experiences, and if so, is there recognition of that role?

Here’s where I landed...

Yes, compliance has a role... a big role. I’d go so far as to say the people who lead their cooperative’s regulatory efforts have arguably the greatest influence on a credit union’s ability to deliver an experience that feels safe and secure. And, that’s extremely valuable today. How safe and secure a person feels while engaging with a brand is a big contributor to both experience and long-term loyalty. In fact, 87 percent of consumers say they’ll take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust a company is handling their data responsibly.  

Credit unions that strategically pursue safety and soundness are in a much better position to maintain lifelong relationships with their members.

Interestingly, while most credit unions walk the walk of regulatory compliance, not nearly as many talk the talk. That’s because adhering to rules and regulations has not historically been viewed as an effective marketing message. Humility and a sense of duty are the likely culprits. However, as competitors from megabank to big tech speak loudly and confidently about security and privacy as a core value, credit unions may want to think about doing the same.

Do your members understand how much of your energy is devoted to safeguarding their money, their transactions and their data privacy? Is there an understanding among your membership of how proactive you have become in terms of hitting those regulatory compliance milestones ahead of time?

Research indicates consumers care about this stuff. Some even draw parallels between a sense of security and regulation. According to a survey by Akamai, consumers want more regulation because they believe it will help in the wake of high-profile breaches and other data security and privacy issues.

As personal data security and privacy blossom in the minds of consumers, they become bolder advantages. That puts compliance leaders in an important position to accelerate their cooperative’s competitive position in the marketplace.

Chances are good your team is accomplishing way more MX goals than you realize. To all you compliance pros out there, 2020 is your year to shine. Every chance you get, draw connections between your work and the member experience. You’ll certainly have a champion in us!

Throughout the year and well into the future, I’ll be pushing forward on our own experience goals. If you have ideas for me on how working with ViClarity can become even more remarkable, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Services performed by ViClarity are compliance and not legal in nature, and do not form an attorney-client relationship or any of the protections attendant to the attorney-client relationship.