Selected Podcast
Prediction of Future Outcomes and Trends: What Types of Insights FI’s Use AI For
In part three of this series, Riley Dickie joins hosts Kelly and Hilary to discuss how financial institutions are using AI.
Featured Speaker:
Riley Dickie
Riley Dickie has worked with Faraday's credit union clients for over three years, helping them take full advantage of their member data through AI. He now leads the company's sales development and operations initiatives. Transcription:
Prediction of Future Outcomes and Trends: What Types of Insights FI’s Use AI For
Bill Klaproth (Host): When you’ve been searching for the right insight, advice, and information on financial marketing, you know where to go. The Speak Easy, the exclusive source for financial marketing insights with a shot of human. Staring Kelly Hellickson and Hillary Reed from EmpowerFi. Strategy infused, data driven marketing solutions for financial institutions nationwide. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. On this episode we talk with Riley Dickie. He is back. He is the director of business development and sales operations for Faraday as we talk about artificial intelligence in the financial marketing landscape. This is podcast number three of our three part series. Kelly and Hillary, always great to talk with you. Riley, welcome back.
Riley Dickie (Guest): Great to be back.
Host: So we’re going to talk about your predictions of the future outcomes and trends and any type of insights you have for FIs that use AIs. So Riley, we’re going to go to you first. Looking for your prediction or future outcomes. What do you think?
Riley: So I think if you asked me this question about six months ago would be a little bit different. With the certain COVID situations with health guidelines and all of that, I'm predicting a completely online personal experience. Today, unfortunately, brick and mortar retail and branch operations, their strategy are not looking great for the next 12/18 months as we get through this pandemic. I believe that AI and machine learning and these different predictive modeling subsets are going to move to a completely online predicted one on one conversation with members. Whether it’s a product or service recommendation directly in mobile banking apps, it is a chatbot that has a personalized speech ready for an individual based on their propensity scores by product, based off of the persona bucket they fall in, or it’s that call center rep that knows exactly who they're speaking to and what they should be saying. The information they should be relaying because that member or prospect falls into a certain bucket and has tendencies and predictive behaviors in a certain way. If I was a betting man, I would say in the next 24 months we’re going to see what the Bank of America and Chase’s of the world used to monopolize in this online space. I'm predicting and I'm very hopeful as a credit union lover that these small and medium sized credit unions will be able to implement this exact same technology with very low barriers to entry.
Hillary A Reed (Guest): I think to play off of that, Riley, I think efficiency. How can you make your credit union most efficient in all areas, especially your online presence, right? Members want a frictionless, seamless experience whether they're in your branch or they're online or they're getting your marketing materials. AI can really help with that in blending that experience, right? So blending the marketing, the frontline experience, any online e-banking type of experience so that it’s really an AI led omnichannel experience, if you will. I think that’s really going to be what we’re seeing next. That along with evolution—I guess looking at the behavior of your members now. So those who are utilizing now are really going to be the front runners, but we’ve said that. That’s no secret. Looking at your members behaviors now versus in the future. How are they acting different after COVID versus before COVID? How are they going to act different a year after this pandemic hit? Again, looking at the trends now versus in the future and evolution is going to be extremely important in this.
Kelly Hellickson (Guest): Well, I think that those are two really great points. To kind of parlay off of that, we’re still going to want to see a lot of humanization in that digital communication, that digital highway that everyone’s going to turn to. So I think it is a lot about integrating your systems, right, the continuity there. Then, of course, the detail gathering, which is inherent in AI with the machine learning and the behavioral analytics. But then the personal exchange, right? The personalization that AI can afford, does afford is something that yes, we’re all going to be digital, but we’re still going to be able to provide that human touch if you will. That marketing with or banking on a handshake that it’s all going to be personalized and customized to fit each consumer, each member at a credit union, each customer at a bank.
Hillary: Yeah, absolutely. With all of this digital disruption that everybody’s experiencing, and the consumers especially. Kelly, exactly what you said. I see member centricity coming to the forefront even more. You think how can we focus on the member even more, but you truly can in that humanized approach. Now it’s going to be a humanized member centric approach based on behavior. You're not just basing it on, like we said before, credit score. You look good on paper, but what do you really want behavior wise? That’s a really good point Kelly.
Riley: That’s what I'm so excited about, and I'm glad you brought it up Kelly. We’re so much more than just credit numbers. We’re so much more than just proactive what’s my soft rate? What are the potential credit cards, auto loans that I can get into? We are these human individuals with spending habits, with merchant relationships, with family and friends that influence with certain property characteristics that don’t necessarily define what we look like on paper. I'm hopeful. I'm predicting for it, and I'm fingers crossed that everybody across the board will be more than a credit number. And we will all be spoken to because of, what you just described, our behavior, because of who we are as human individuals. The fun part and the gray part about technologies that we’re talking about, that we’re able to bring that to light. This was once something that only the very rich big players out there, the big banks, could get. Now I think I've said it before, but I want to double down. We’re removing those barriers to entry for institutions of all sizes. With that means that humans of all shapes and sizes will be able to get access to these products and services that are best and right for them as the individuals they are. With machine learning, that will just continue to adjust and change as they adjust and grow as the individuals they are.
Host: So it will really help you personalize your marketing. I like some of the words that you’ve been using, all of you. Frictionless, seamless, keeping that human touch as you said Kelly. So this really allows you to optimize your marketing efforts really based on important probabilities, right, and really respond to the individual with the right message at the right time, which ultimately benefits them. Is that right?
Hillary: Yes Billy.
Kelly: Absolutely. Bill, do you want to come work for us?
Hillary: It’s great. Love it, love it. Financial institutions can and should bank on AI. Do you like that? You see my little wink afterwards?
Kelly: Nice.
Host: We see it. Nice.
Hillary: Now that’s some marketing corniness right there.
Host: From the woman who gave you [darketer ph?], yes.
Kelly: I love it.
Host: So if we could have you wrap this up, this has been so informative. Riley, let’s start with you. Final thoughts on AI for FI?
Riley: I would say for me personally, me as someone who works in this AI space, the number one thing to take away is that this technology is going to be a win/win for credit unions and their members. Credit unions, it’s a technology that’s going to be cost saving. It’s going to see dramatic ROI. It’s going to give data science capability to credit union marketers at their fingertips, but it’s going to be a huge win for their members as well. They're going to have the most personalized experience, be given recommendations and guidance in consulting that’s right for them, that is only meant for them. The same way I've used the example before the Netflix recommends a TV and movie that’s individualized, the same way that Amazon does with it’s products, credit unions will now have the ability to bring that technology to consumer finance. It is just going to be a great opportunity that will just bring out the best and the brightest of each individual because they’ll only be dealing with the products that best fit them as a whole.
Hillary: Yeah, thanks Riley. I think that—I guess if I had to say, I would say that enhancing organizational efficiency throughout—again, not just marketing although marketing touches everything—but enhancing organizational efficiency, predicting the future growth of the credit union, predicting future member behaviors, and in the end saving you money because the more you can predict member behaviors the less you'll end up spending on outreach. Then the most important part, I would say, is to integrate the AI into your credit union’s strategic plan so that it’s being use, the predictability. It’s being used from the top down. Then you have the most frictionless and seamless experience for your members.
Kelly: Yeah. I guess to just kind of tie it all together with a beautiful little ribbon if you will is how are you ever going to—How do you serve somebody better, right? You understand them. So when you understand someone better, you're better able to serve them better. I think that is exactly what the whole point and philosophy of artificial intelligence, data platforms is in a nutshell.
Host: Yeah, I think that’s a great way to wrap it up. Thank you for that Kelly and Hillary and Riley. Great discussion about artificial intelligence in the financial marketing landscape. Kelly, Hillary, Riley, great discussion. Thank you.
Kelly: Yep. Thanks so much you guys. Yeah, Riley, thanks for joining us.
Riley: Thank you everyone.
Hillary: Thanks everyone.
Host: Thanks for joining us in this three part series. To connect with Hillary or Kelly, please visit empowerfi.org. To learn more about artificial intelligence marketing, please visit empowerfi.org/services/data. This is the Speak Easy financial marketing podcast. Thanks for listening.
Prediction of Future Outcomes and Trends: What Types of Insights FI’s Use AI For
Bill Klaproth (Host): When you’ve been searching for the right insight, advice, and information on financial marketing, you know where to go. The Speak Easy, the exclusive source for financial marketing insights with a shot of human. Staring Kelly Hellickson and Hillary Reed from EmpowerFi. Strategy infused, data driven marketing solutions for financial institutions nationwide. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. On this episode we talk with Riley Dickie. He is back. He is the director of business development and sales operations for Faraday as we talk about artificial intelligence in the financial marketing landscape. This is podcast number three of our three part series. Kelly and Hillary, always great to talk with you. Riley, welcome back.
Riley Dickie (Guest): Great to be back.
Host: So we’re going to talk about your predictions of the future outcomes and trends and any type of insights you have for FIs that use AIs. So Riley, we’re going to go to you first. Looking for your prediction or future outcomes. What do you think?
Riley: So I think if you asked me this question about six months ago would be a little bit different. With the certain COVID situations with health guidelines and all of that, I'm predicting a completely online personal experience. Today, unfortunately, brick and mortar retail and branch operations, their strategy are not looking great for the next 12/18 months as we get through this pandemic. I believe that AI and machine learning and these different predictive modeling subsets are going to move to a completely online predicted one on one conversation with members. Whether it’s a product or service recommendation directly in mobile banking apps, it is a chatbot that has a personalized speech ready for an individual based on their propensity scores by product, based off of the persona bucket they fall in, or it’s that call center rep that knows exactly who they're speaking to and what they should be saying. The information they should be relaying because that member or prospect falls into a certain bucket and has tendencies and predictive behaviors in a certain way. If I was a betting man, I would say in the next 24 months we’re going to see what the Bank of America and Chase’s of the world used to monopolize in this online space. I'm predicting and I'm very hopeful as a credit union lover that these small and medium sized credit unions will be able to implement this exact same technology with very low barriers to entry.
Hillary A Reed (Guest): I think to play off of that, Riley, I think efficiency. How can you make your credit union most efficient in all areas, especially your online presence, right? Members want a frictionless, seamless experience whether they're in your branch or they're online or they're getting your marketing materials. AI can really help with that in blending that experience, right? So blending the marketing, the frontline experience, any online e-banking type of experience so that it’s really an AI led omnichannel experience, if you will. I think that’s really going to be what we’re seeing next. That along with evolution—I guess looking at the behavior of your members now. So those who are utilizing now are really going to be the front runners, but we’ve said that. That’s no secret. Looking at your members behaviors now versus in the future. How are they acting different after COVID versus before COVID? How are they going to act different a year after this pandemic hit? Again, looking at the trends now versus in the future and evolution is going to be extremely important in this.
Kelly Hellickson (Guest): Well, I think that those are two really great points. To kind of parlay off of that, we’re still going to want to see a lot of humanization in that digital communication, that digital highway that everyone’s going to turn to. So I think it is a lot about integrating your systems, right, the continuity there. Then, of course, the detail gathering, which is inherent in AI with the machine learning and the behavioral analytics. But then the personal exchange, right? The personalization that AI can afford, does afford is something that yes, we’re all going to be digital, but we’re still going to be able to provide that human touch if you will. That marketing with or banking on a handshake that it’s all going to be personalized and customized to fit each consumer, each member at a credit union, each customer at a bank.
Hillary: Yeah, absolutely. With all of this digital disruption that everybody’s experiencing, and the consumers especially. Kelly, exactly what you said. I see member centricity coming to the forefront even more. You think how can we focus on the member even more, but you truly can in that humanized approach. Now it’s going to be a humanized member centric approach based on behavior. You're not just basing it on, like we said before, credit score. You look good on paper, but what do you really want behavior wise? That’s a really good point Kelly.
Riley: That’s what I'm so excited about, and I'm glad you brought it up Kelly. We’re so much more than just credit numbers. We’re so much more than just proactive what’s my soft rate? What are the potential credit cards, auto loans that I can get into? We are these human individuals with spending habits, with merchant relationships, with family and friends that influence with certain property characteristics that don’t necessarily define what we look like on paper. I'm hopeful. I'm predicting for it, and I'm fingers crossed that everybody across the board will be more than a credit number. And we will all be spoken to because of, what you just described, our behavior, because of who we are as human individuals. The fun part and the gray part about technologies that we’re talking about, that we’re able to bring that to light. This was once something that only the very rich big players out there, the big banks, could get. Now I think I've said it before, but I want to double down. We’re removing those barriers to entry for institutions of all sizes. With that means that humans of all shapes and sizes will be able to get access to these products and services that are best and right for them as the individuals they are. With machine learning, that will just continue to adjust and change as they adjust and grow as the individuals they are.
Host: So it will really help you personalize your marketing. I like some of the words that you’ve been using, all of you. Frictionless, seamless, keeping that human touch as you said Kelly. So this really allows you to optimize your marketing efforts really based on important probabilities, right, and really respond to the individual with the right message at the right time, which ultimately benefits them. Is that right?
Hillary: Yes Billy.
Kelly: Absolutely. Bill, do you want to come work for us?
Hillary: It’s great. Love it, love it. Financial institutions can and should bank on AI. Do you like that? You see my little wink afterwards?
Kelly: Nice.
Host: We see it. Nice.
Hillary: Now that’s some marketing corniness right there.
Host: From the woman who gave you [darketer ph?], yes.
Kelly: I love it.
Host: So if we could have you wrap this up, this has been so informative. Riley, let’s start with you. Final thoughts on AI for FI?
Riley: I would say for me personally, me as someone who works in this AI space, the number one thing to take away is that this technology is going to be a win/win for credit unions and their members. Credit unions, it’s a technology that’s going to be cost saving. It’s going to see dramatic ROI. It’s going to give data science capability to credit union marketers at their fingertips, but it’s going to be a huge win for their members as well. They're going to have the most personalized experience, be given recommendations and guidance in consulting that’s right for them, that is only meant for them. The same way I've used the example before the Netflix recommends a TV and movie that’s individualized, the same way that Amazon does with it’s products, credit unions will now have the ability to bring that technology to consumer finance. It is just going to be a great opportunity that will just bring out the best and the brightest of each individual because they’ll only be dealing with the products that best fit them as a whole.
Hillary: Yeah, thanks Riley. I think that—I guess if I had to say, I would say that enhancing organizational efficiency throughout—again, not just marketing although marketing touches everything—but enhancing organizational efficiency, predicting the future growth of the credit union, predicting future member behaviors, and in the end saving you money because the more you can predict member behaviors the less you'll end up spending on outreach. Then the most important part, I would say, is to integrate the AI into your credit union’s strategic plan so that it’s being use, the predictability. It’s being used from the top down. Then you have the most frictionless and seamless experience for your members.
Kelly: Yeah. I guess to just kind of tie it all together with a beautiful little ribbon if you will is how are you ever going to—How do you serve somebody better, right? You understand them. So when you understand someone better, you're better able to serve them better. I think that is exactly what the whole point and philosophy of artificial intelligence, data platforms is in a nutshell.
Host: Yeah, I think that’s a great way to wrap it up. Thank you for that Kelly and Hillary and Riley. Great discussion about artificial intelligence in the financial marketing landscape. Kelly, Hillary, Riley, great discussion. Thank you.
Kelly: Yep. Thanks so much you guys. Yeah, Riley, thanks for joining us.
Riley: Thank you everyone.
Hillary: Thanks everyone.
Host: Thanks for joining us in this three part series. To connect with Hillary or Kelly, please visit empowerfi.org. To learn more about artificial intelligence marketing, please visit empowerfi.org/services/data. This is the Speak Easy financial marketing podcast. Thanks for listening.