In the age of information revolution, credit unions need to adopt a data strategy that will allow them to gain a better understanding of their members before they make decisions.

“It’s going to end up being a matter of survival,” says Tom Kane, president/CEO of the Illinois Credit Union League and LSC.

Credit unions collect a vast amount of data on their members. The most important part of that data is being able to analyze it and make decisions that influence what members see and experience, as well as the speed by which tasks are completed.

In short, you need to use data to stay relevant to your members, Kane says.

“One of the buzz phrases you hear about data analytics is, ‘It’s delivering the right message to the right member at the right time,’” Kane says. “Otherwise, other people are going to do it. They’re going to be hitting those members and offering a quick and easy experience because they have a lot of information. They can create a tailored message to what your member’s need is right at that time.”

Whether they roll out an all-encompassing data strategy or just take a small step, Kane says credit unions need to roll out some kind of a data program.

“It’s important that they get a better understanding, through the use of data, of what their members want and how to serve their members better," he says.

“People can get overwhelmed with what other people are doing or feel that this is too big to even tackle,” he continues. “Just do something.”

In this episode of the CUNA News Podcast, Kane discusses the information revolution, the importance of data, challenges credit unions face when adopting a data analytics strategy, and Iron Safe, a system that extracts data from various reports and places into one usable dashboard for credit unions.

You can listen and subscribe to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple’s iTunes Store, Google Play, and Stitchery Radio.