Work With Healthcare Providers and Their Patients
Deposit growth is critical for the success of any financial institution. Without it, banks can’t fund the loans that consumers want and need. However, attracting new deposit opportunities isn’t quite as simple as it used to be. Let’s just say that a free toaster doesn’t go as far as it once did. Instead, savvy banks have been scanning the landscape for unexpected deposit sources, and then marketing themselves as the bank of choice via a robust combination of products and services.
At Epic River, our focus is on connecting banks with healthcare providers to offer patient lending solutions. We understand healthcare providers and their patients’ banking wants, needs, and pain points almost as well as we know our own at this point. In this post, we’ll share some insight we’ve gleaned about how to build relationships, and, in turn, maximize deposit opportunities with healthcare providers and their customers.
1. Streamline the Loan Process
Nothing derails the opportunity to engage and retain customers (and their deposits!) quite like onerous paperwork. Today’s medical debt loanee will be tomorrow’s depositor, so work to minimize time spent on paperwork and maximize time spent explaining the benefits of your bank, its philosophy, and its products.
2. Build a Referral Program
Referral programs are a “quick win” for healthcare providers, their patients, and you. By incentivizing referrals, you’ll also arm customers with insight into your bank (and why it’s so great) and cultivate customer loyalty while creating a network of advocates within your community. Test different types of referral offers to see which has the most success . . . you might be surprised!
3. Offer Easy-to-Use Online Products
The technological revolution has happened. If you’re still waiting for customers to come in for facetime so you can sell them on increasing deposits, you’ll probably be waiting for a while. Make sure your digital products are not only up-to-snuff, but also have baked in deposit opportunities, investment solutions, and/or financial planning advice targeting the exact customer profile (e.g., healthcare provider or patient in need of a loan for medical debt). Hit them where they are, not where you want them to be.
4. Make Your Presence Known
Healthcare providers and their accounting and finance staff are just like anyone else: they can get so buried in their day-to-day work that their knowledge of what local banks offer, and how they can help, can become stale. Make your presence – and your specialties – known through targeted marketing, special events, or simply by dropping by and introducing yourself.
5. Look for Underserved Customers
Given that the Federal Reserve has reported that nearly half of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 for an emergency, banks need both to adjust customer parameters and find them at their point of need. There is perhaps no more urgent time of need than when a patient who needs a loan in order to afford medical treatment. By joining the Epic River network of providers and financial institutions, you’ll be perfectly positioned to provide a loan to someone in need at the exact time they need it.
Discovering new ways to create deposit opportunities is just one of the challenges today’s bankers face. Working with us, you’ll become the bank of choice for not just patients in need of loans for medical debt, but also potentially for the healthcare providers and staff members trying to find solutions for those patients. These are the connections that will stand the test of time and propel your bank to the top.
Contact us today to learn more about our innovative Patient Lending and eSignature products, and how they can help your bank build relationships and maximize deposit opportunities.
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