Personal financial management tools can offer membersa convenient way to budget and save while providing a plethora ofdata about their spending habits, other banking relationships.

While they're aimed at helping credit unions improve service andmarketing efficiency, to reap the most benefits from PFMtools, they may need to capture data accurately, analyzeit efficiently and utilize it strategically, some experts havesuggested.

In order to make the most out of PFM, the $1.3 billionLocalGovernment Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C.,recently inked a deal with Provo, Utah-based MoneyDesktopto participate in the private beta testing phase of MoneyDesktop'sInsight and Target, the firm's new PFM-based analytics andmarketing tools.

Insight and Target, which were named as a FinovateSpring 2013 Best of Show winner, are data-drivenanalytics tools that aggregate information from MoneyDesktop's PFMplatform. They are designed to enable financial institutions tobetter understand account holders' banking relationships and createfocused marketing strategies aimed at specific users, according toMoneyDesktop.

Insight leverages aggregated PFM user data to enable financialinstitutions to gain a deeper view into their account holders'spending habits and create customizable marketing segments based onuser growth, demographics, accounts, spending, interest rates oncompeting financial products and other metrics.

Target, which builds on Insight, turns data visualization intoaction and enables credit unions to send hyper relevant marketingcontent and product offerings to their account holders in realtime, according to MoneyDesktop.

The tool also allows financial institutions to feature theirproducts alongside an account holder's existing products includingthose that relate to accounts held outside of their primaryinstitution. For example, credit unions can create ads that are sospecific that they actually pinpoint exactly how much members cansave by transferring a car loan from another financialinstitution.

MauriceSmith, president/CEO of LGFCU, said his goal inimplementing Insight and Target is to improve efficiency inmarketing products and services to members, enhance customerservice and improve market penetration.

“We intend to use Insight to gain a better understanding of ourmembers' financial behavior in a number of different areas,” saidSmith, who is also chair of the North Carolina Credit Union League. “As a credit union,we feel an obligation to improve our members' lives withresponsible financial products and education. The first step inthis process is acquiring the understanding of what members aredoing with credit.”

Smith said after looking for members who are overburdened withdebt or have mortgage loans with supposed aggressive terms, thecredit union will search for savings for them. Target will alsoenable the credit union to put in action the intelligence learnedwith Insight, he added.

“We are a credit union that has always been proactive withmember education but some members have criticized us for not takingthe next step and presenting them with offers,” he said.

“Target will help us do this. Not only will we be able to targetmember education to consumers who need specific messages, we willbe able to place product offerings to members who have ademonstrated need.”

Smith said while LGFCU currently markets to members using avariety of methods including email, direct response marketing viaUSPS, point of sale displays and statement inserts, the creditunion was searching for a solution to improve efficiency andeffectiveness.

“With these new tools, we will avoid the inconvenience ofpresenting product offerings to members who have not expressed aninterest nor have no particular need,” Smith explained. “Goodwillwill increase as members realize they are getting better offerstailored to their life needs and interests.”

He said Insight and Target will also benefit the credit union byincreasing its market penetration of some products.

“This is more than just a focus on sales,” Smith noted. “Weearnestly believe we provide great value to our members. It standsto reason that increasing the portfolios of our products deliverseven greater value to the membership as a whole. We can calculatethis aggregate benefit in some very precise ways.”

Using PFM data strategically can help credit unions capitalizeon technology, improve return on investment and boostprofitability, according to Bret Skousen, executive vice presidentof marketing and public relations at MoneyDesktop, which claimsabout 400 banks and credit unions as clients.

“For several years, people have been discussing big data buthave failed to harness it in a meaningful way, especially when itcomes to financial technology,” Skousen said. “But Insight andTarget provide powerful tools to assist credit unions that want toincrease loan volume, user acquisition and wallet share.”

Insight's data is displayed with an intuitive user interface,which eliminates the need for a statistician to interpret data andallows credit unions to quickly gain a glimpse into the overallstatus of their institution, Skousen said. In addition, Targetallows credit unions to select the exact group of account holdersit wants to market to and provides an easy, ­efficient way tolaunch effective marketing campaigns, he said.

By meshing analytics and marketing, Skousen said credit unionscan maximize their return on investment.

“Insight and Target will fundamentally change the relationshipbetween FIs and their account holders,” he concluded. “FIs willfinally be able to harness the power of big data to understandtheir end users, increase wallet share, increase loan volume andbecome their end users' primary financial institution.”