UTILIZE MEMBER-FACING DOCUMENTS TO GROW YOUR AUTO LENDING PORTFOLIO

Photo Credit: http://cloudlendinginc.com/

By December 2015, credit unions saw massive growth in auto loans with balances projected to reach the highest to-date: $264.7 billion, according to Callahan & Associates. Furthermore, credit unions bagged 16.5% of the auto market, which is the highest year-end rate since December 2009 at 19.9%.

In an effort to aid credit unions in their continued pursuit of auto lending portfolio growth this year, here are some ways to utilize member-facing documents to meet this strategic goal:

Segment Your Audience
Because there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter member, standard marketing will not produce the same response rate as segment marketing. According to MailChimp, segmented email campaigns see 59.99% more clicks than non-segmented campaigns.
Incorporating targeting and personalization in your documents using business rules and workflows provides the ability to significantly improve your print marketing ROI. 

Make it Easy to Respond
Many credit unions fall into the trap of creating extra, unnecessary steps for members to take in the pursuit of auto loans. Get ahead of your competition by making it easy for members to respond! A great way to do this would be to post a URL in the members' ePresentment documents that will drive members to a page where they can fill out a quick form in order to be contacted by one of your loan officers.

Communicate Risk Mitigation with Credit-Impaired Members
Mitigating risk, especially when lending to credit-impaired members, is of utmost importance to credit unions. Ensure your institution is covered by insurance that helps protect collateral or loan repayment, and then build that cost into those specific loan rates. In order to effectively communicate this with your members without causing uproar, utilize member documents to prominently communicate the increase in loan rates- and the reasoning behind said increase. Your members will appreciate the communication and will feel good knowing that you are working with them to better their overall financial standings.

Partner Up
Your core focus is your members, so effectively communicating with them on every level, especially on member-facing documents, is of utmost importance. Partnering with a document outsourcing company that can design, produce and deliver business-critical content on any platform is critical to portfolio growth. 

In Conclusion
Member-facing documents are the perfect delivery method for your auto loan portfolio initiatives. By personalizing messaging, alleviating the customer response cycle, mitigating risk, and choosing a document outsourcing company that aligns with your strategic business goals, your credit union will be well on its way to seeing an expanded portfolio.