Credit union members, like all consumers, are diverse, with differing product and service needs and digital comfort levels, according to the CUNA Lending Council white paper, “Emerging Loan Products, Categories & Practices.”

Despite these differences, financial institutions feel the pressure to provide highly personalized services.

Accommodating “a million markets of one” requires finding patterns that bring customers together and harnessing consumer data to deliver a hyper-relevant, highly convenient and trustworthy customer experience, according to the report.

One way to do this is by finding patterns among customers’ varying personalities, in effect becoming a “living business” with an agile and innovative business model.

The white paper, citing data from Accenture, suggests diving consumers into four broad personas based on how they perceive and engage with financial institutions.

The four groups are:

1. Pioneers: risk-takers who are tech-savvy and hungry for innovation.
2. Pragmatists: ubiquitous, trusting, and channel-agnostic consumers.
3. Skeptics: people who are tech-wary, dissatisfied, and alienated.
4. Traditionalists: tech-avoiders who value the human touch.

While these groups have different preferences and attitudes toward data-sharing, their similarities reveal potential action areas.

Most, for instance, are willing to share data to receive personalized offers, more efficient and intuitive services, and more competitive pricing.