Americans are losing sleep over money issues, especially Millennials, and the financial challenges they're facing. Many of them aren't even sure how to plan for the future, or which first steps they should take to make it all happen.
It's especially concerning when you realize that only 20 percent of people have any kind of financial plan or education system in place. Many financial institutions and fintech developers are battling hard to reach this demographic, trying to get them to switch banks, switch apps, and switch their loyalty.
That's a mistake, says Irene Waldman, Senior Director ofProduct Management, Envestnet | Yodlee, and Mike Lovell, Senior Vice President of Marketing, EVERFI.
They think the remaining 80 percent are where the real opportunity lies for banks and developers who want to provide financial education to consumers as a way to earn their loyalty. In the webinar, Building Effective Financial Education, we showed how financially literate customers are more engaged and self-sufficient, and can end up being more profitable for financial institutions.
“We see education as a key component of financial wellness. In order for it to be effective,” Irene has said, "it needs to be contextual and be a part of the ecosystem of tools, as opposed to living outside the financial apps."
In other words, include financial education into your various apps and portals, especially for those who are learning about financial wellness and personal finance for the first time; regardless of their life stage. And with data-driven personalized diagnostics, you can bring the right kind of content to the right customers at the right time.
That means being able to provide the most effective and personalized recommendations for a particular product or issue, which comes from being able to measure where they are with their financial health. Are they paying spending more than they're making? Are they paying their bills on time? Are they saving effectively for retirement?
Mike Lovell discussed how EVERFI, through the partnership with Envestnet | Yodlee, offers content that can be shared with consumers, depending on the kind of education they need and their personas. This customized analysis lets EVERFI serve up the most relevant content based on where people are in their financial journey and life stage. As an example, they have content geared specifically for young Millennials getting their first job.
Mike also discussed what persona development is, and why it's important to banks and developers. He showed some basic ways EVERFI builds personas — by gathering account holder data, or conducting interviews and surveys — and what they're able to do with this information once they have it.
He also recommends that once bank shave an understanding of their customers they should audit their content, and rework it as needed. Once the audit is complete, banks can place that educational content in front of consumers in the moments of their lives that they need specialized content depending on where they are in their journey. Such as life stages like retirement, just starting out, or starting a family; life events like preparing for college or caring for aging parents; and specific products like those for first time home buyers, establishing credit, or getting an auto loan.
To learn more about building effective financial education for your customers and end users, you can see the webinar on demand, in its entirety. Just watch Building Effective Financial Education at your convenience.
