Welcome to 2017. How can I help you?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock—no judgement here if you’ve decided to, I understand—you likely know that 2016 wasn’t a top pick in the ol’ list of favorite years ever for most of us. Throughout the past 360-some days, we saw what seemed to be a cruel number of beloved icons die (RIP, George Michael), we feel more divided by our differences than united by our similarities, many of us are looking at less optimistic realities in our financial futures, and our planet continues to register a sketchy bill of health, per just about every expert.

But enough of that. 2016 happened and now we’re staring down the barrel of 2017. ‘Tis the time of year to read articles about new trends for the credit union industry, in digital media and marketing, in the global economy. Those articles are informative so do check them out, but for my credit union friends taking the time to read this article, I’m going to simplify every trend and forecast I’ve seen into the one simplest, most important fact I know about this coming year: People are going to need your help.

It’s a simple fact, though not a simple situation to solve. To begin to find one—to truly help people how and when and where they need help this year, an evolution must occur. Not just a physical one, but a philosophic one. A Filene colleague of mine has brilliantly stated that “it’s not about asset size, it’s about mindset” when credit unions ponder “is this the right strategy for us?” And I’ve seen that to be a helpful way of looking at making decisions this year. So let me reiterate, because I think it’s that important…people are going to need your help in 2017, credit unions. And I’m certain it’s been said before, but I believe it has never been more true. Are you of the mindset to help more people in 2017?

With that goal in mind, here are some emerging and growing digital trends for 2017

Tailored customer service:

Unique needs require tailored solutions. Who’s often bad at tailored solutions? Large unwieldy corporations that attempt to move with nearly impossible coordination across thousands of locations at once, meeting only the largest population’s needs–the BoAs and Wells Fargos of the world. Who is good at tailored solutions? Smart and nimble organizations (or as we say as Filene, snimble). For once, small is a HUGE advantage. And this is going to be huge.

Try reaching out to members one-to-one through digital channels in 2017. While they may see your special offer on Facebook, a home remodeling project they want to try from your Pinterest board, or ask you a question on Twitter, look for ways to give each person who connects digitally with your brand a personal response and the attention they’d get in branch. The rise of messaging apps and snapchat-like communication isn’t going to slow in the year ahead. Neither is the development of technologies enabling chat-bots and website “virtual assistants” to guide visitors through various processes like applying for loans or membership.

While channels enter and evolve, we will absolutely see more of the most successful businesses serving people through digital channels in 2017. Now is the time to establish yourself as helpful and valuable on the digital channels you use today if you want any chance of keeping up the good service ratings.

Audience empathy:

This isn’t a new trend, but what is new is the further segmentation and division of categories by which people have specific needs. What are you doing to help the 46% of Americans that don’t have $400 saved for emergencies? Or the students graduating from college without a clue how much they owe or how to pay it off? Do you have innovative accounts that include matching or gamification or Kickstarter-like crowd sourcing elements to it?

How about the immigrant community or migrant workers? Are you spending any R&D resources in coming up with new and better ways these people can send money back to family members back in their home countries?

What about those squeezed between two generations of loved-ones needing their care? The LGBT community? The Muslim community? The elderly? Gen Z? People with mental or physical disabilities? Survivors of violent crimes, domestic violence or identity theft? Women, minorities, non-English speakers? The list goes on.

The fact is, we’re not one size fits all and our financial needs are getting more complex and segmented. There are numerous ways credit unions can reach out to at least one new segment of people struggling in their communities, and serve them what they need. For nearly every demographic segment, Filene has a research report. Start there.

Employees as ambassadors:

Using social and digital media to empathize, connect and know your community has been a successful strategy for nearly a decade now. In the last handful of years, savvy industries have developed and adapted their offerings based what they’ve learned in those spaces. Now we’re in the era of communicating and sharing these stories to let others know that we’ve put our money where our mouth is.

Employees’ voices are the strongest way to let your stories be told and passed on, one by one by many. I’ve spoken and written at length about this—and the fact remains that posts shared by real humans (rather than brands) get 8 times the engagement, 92% of people say they trust product and service recommendations from their social networks and 75% of the time it leads directly to a purchasing decision.

If you are proud of your credit union and what you’re able to do to help people every day, chances are others there are too. By building a strategy to empower employees to share your credit union’s story and what it means to them, in their own real and genuine way to their online networks, this approach will be an asset rather than a risk in 2017.

Final thought

Gone are the days of people picking from and squeezing into the ill-fitting shapes of products and services on offer for decades. In 2017 even more new competition will come. And they will cut through the BS to simply help people with what they need, and be rewarded with thriving and growing business. Credit unions don’t need to predict the future or see everything that’s coming. You do need to focus on what people in the years ahead are going to need.

Perhaps 2016 worked out well for you, and you served your community’s needs, looked out for your members’ best interests, and business is going well. That’s wonderful! Now look into both your business-minded and socially-minded brains and hearts to see who else is out there that needs your help, and that you can serve next.

There will be no shortage of people needing help in 2017—and while that may seem like a depressing fact, what lifts me up is knowing that thousands of credit unions will go on and help millions of people that need it in the year ahead.