At a base level, credit unions are member-centric for a simple reason: they exist to serve their members, full stop. But you don't just want to be member-aware; you want to be full-on member-obsessed. Doing so can be a game changer in terms of increasing member loyalty, generating repeat business through positive word-of-mouth, becoming more adaptable, creating a competitive advantage for yourself, and more.
Overall, there are five levels of commitment that a credit union can show to its members and the more you understand about each one, the easier it will be to go all the way to the top.
Measuring the Member Experience
CSAT Score
This tool measures how satisfied your members are with your credit union's service and support.
This test takes many forms. A post-phone call survey can include a...
- Thumbs up or thumbs down.
- Simple question, like "How would you rate the service?"
- Smiling face, "meh" face, and a sad face.
These simple inquiries will help your credit union know how satisfied your members are with their member experience.
Net Promoter Score
Your credit union's net promoter score is the percentage of members who would recommend your products or services to someone else.
This can also be done in a brief survey, asking...
- Would you recommend this product to your friends or family? Yes or No.
- On a scale from 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product or service to a friend or family member?
Retention
Member retention is essential to limiting costs and minimizing acquisition costs. Furthermore, member retention serves as a valuable measure of the level of member support your credit union provides. It indirectly indicates the strength of the relationship between your credit union and its members.
ROI of Good Member Support
Not only is providing exemplary member service the right thing to do, but good member support also has financial benefits for your credit union.
With amazing member service, your credit union will experience...
- Continuous member loyalty
- Repeat business
- Word-of-mouth marketing
- Reduced member churn
Levels of Commitment
Member-Naive
One recent report from Forrester indicated that financial services firms are about as audience-obsessed as the average company. But the first of those stages would be a credit union that is member-naive, meaning that they can't be sure they're on the right path to success because they haven't technically begun that journey in the first place.
You'll know you're at this level if:
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You lack a general awareness of not only who your members are, but what they need and what their goals are.
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Therefore, you don't know how your own products and services can help. You're flying blind, essentially. You're a rudderless ship lost at sea.
Member-Aware
To move up from the member-aware stage, you need to take all that research you've been doing, extract meaningful insight from it, and turn it into action.
If your credit union is at this level, you will notice things like:
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Members will do business with your credit union, but they don't necessarily like it.
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Key roles like marketing are probably siloed off in disparate business units when compared to more mature CUs.
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You understand your members. Now it's time to take action to win them over.
Member-Engaged
Member engagement is all about doubling down on your commitment to your members. You made them a promise when they walked through the door. Now, it's time to live up to it.
The signs that indicate you've become properly member-engaged include:
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Some, but not all, of your organizational leadership has bought into the idea that you need to become member-obsessed.
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Digital services are becoming an essential part of your credit union's success.
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You have begun to take meaningful steps to properly align the member experience and marketing.
Member-Committed
As you move onto the member-committed phase, all that hard work is starting to truly pay off. Now, it's about doubling down on and reinforcing those efforts.
Becoming member-committed means:
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You are beginning to embrace outside-in design best practices for all of your credit union's initiatives.
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Building trust with your members, not just awareness, has become a critical CU objective.
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Not only are forward-thinking ideas like launching new services becoming more common, you're also quick to action.
Member-Obsessed
As per the great Jeff Bezos, finally becoming member-obsessed means that you're focusing on your members, not just your competitors. It's a mindset that every department needs to own and make no mistake--that ripple effect absolutely begins at the top and works its way down.
You will have achieved peak member-obsessed status if:
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You're starting to extend outside of your core products and services to drive intelligent credit union growth.
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You've begun to cultivate leaders at all levels of the credit union, breaking down silos and making sure that everyone has a member-obsessed, digital-driven mindset.
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Rapid experimentation and learning are top priorities. You're willing to explore the idea of new processes, products, services, and even markets.
Fueling Credit Union Innovation: Transform with FLEX Today!
At FLEX, we pride ourselves on our ability to offer credit unions like yours access to the products and integrations that your members don't just need, but deserve. We know that you want to become as member-obsessed as possible and, rest assured, we want that, too. If you'd like to find out more information, or if you'd like to begin your credit union's own digital transformation towards a brighter future, please contact FLEX today.
