By Default: Influence Customers to Make Great Decisions

In 1979 Spain started automatically enrolling all their citizens as organ donors. They allowed anyone to actively opt out of the system, but to be an organ donor was the default. This simple change in policy has allowed Spain to lead the world in organ donation. In 2019 Spain’s organ donation rates (46.91 per million of population) were double nearby UK and well ahead of the next highest contender (USA with 36.88).

So, what does this have to do with the finance industry? It all comes back to defaults. Most users never change their default settings. In fact, the Rule of Defaults states that 95% of users never change any settings. And, while this isn’t an official rule and is more just a funny saying that developed after Microsoft discovered only 5% of their Word^® users changed any settings back in the early days of PCs, it is something to think about.

What this means for your company is that defaults can be powerful.

Using Desired Settings as the Default

For example, let’s say you are trying to save money by getting customers to use electronic statements (one of our clients saves over $100,000 each month). One simple way to do this is to automatically set all new customers to use electronic statements by default. Most will never change their settings and pretty soon a majority of your customers will be using electronic statements instead of paper and all you had to do was set the default. An option to do this very thing is already available in GOLDAccount Center. All you need to do is let GOLDPoint Systems know you want to start using it.

You might also want to be able to contact users via email, text, or SMS. Automatically enrolling new users to receive notifications is simple and allowing them to actively opt out makes sure they have a choice, although few will actually opt out. This means that you will be able to contact a majority of your users to let them know about new deals, or to remind them to make an upcoming payment, or to simply maintain a good relationship and wish them a happy birthday. Defaults can make great communication almost effortless.

Don't Forget Alerts

You could also automatically set up user alerts by default for all your users. This ensures that users are contacted about email address changes, Bill Pay, login changes, password violations, etc. Not only does this increase the security of each user’s account, but it creates a better relationship. Users are immediately notified when something might be wrong with their account and your company’s overall system is stronger for it.

And those are just a few examples of defaults that can make a real difference. I didn’t even mention default interest rates, automatically setting up a default account for Pay by Text, default security settings, etc. The list could go on and on.

What I’m trying to say is that taking the time to set up the right defaults for your customers can be game changing. Spain used it to become a world leader in organ donation. What could it do for you?

Want to learn more about setting up defaults for your company? Contact GOLDPoint Systems today!