Decisions Based on Information: Surprising Credit Union Member Insights Gained from Surveys
When it comes to providing the best services for their members, credit unions have a couple different options. Credit union member insight can be gained from surveys. They can try to glean insight through guesswork or arcane rituals, or they can completely disregard how their members feel.
While we can’t speak to the efficacy of guesswork or arcane rituals—certainly they’re better than nothing—we have to assume that the results from such techniques could be inconsistent. What’s worse, even if they do work with some consistency, there would be no reliable way of measuring it.
Surveys to the Rescue
If you work at a credit union and you want to gain insight about your members, we have a suggestion: ask them how they feel. And then listen. It’s worked in the past, and it will continue to work in the future.
Our favorite thing about surveys is that they don’t have to follow a specific format. There’s no limit to the kinds of questions you could ask your members: you could ask them if they like pizza, what is their favorite color, or whether they like surveys.
Your best bet is to focus on what’s important for your credit union, though. For example, you might want feedback about wait times, employee interactions, or online banking experiences. Learning about member approval regarding your products and services can help inform what directions you take you things.
Survey results may also tell you when member experience doesn’t reflect the effort you’ve put in. If they’re unhappy with something, a good survey can tell you what they’re unhappy with, and it might even tell you why.
Know how to Best Serve your Members
I’ve played darts a few times in my life. There’s something very satisfying about hurling a projectile toward a target and seeing where it lands. What scares me is when I hear of people using dartboards to make important life decisions. It’s questionable enough to throw a dart at a map to see where to take your next vacation, but it’s preposterous to let that same kind of chance dictate how you run your credit union.
Personally, I prefer decisions based on information. I’m not the only one.
One of the more surprising survey results we’ve seen recently helped Maps Credit Union find out how to proceed with a system conversion project.
Maps Credit Union needed to change their bill pay system, but they wanted to make sure that they could provide a similar or improved experience for their members. While sunsetting their original product, they conducted a transactional survey and discovered that their members didn’t just like the old bill pay system—they loved it!
Maps Credit Union leveraged the insight they gained from their survey to find another bill pay system that could deliver the same great user experience as the old one. Without good survey information, they wouldn’t have known what kind of system to convert to.
We can’t say it with 100% confidence, but we suspect an arcane ritual wouldn’t have pushed them in the right direction. Decisions based on information are almost always better than elaborate guesswork.
Danger is Not Your Middle Name
There’s nothing wrong with making the safe play. In fact, your members will thank you.
If you’d like to continue providing the best possible products and services at your credit union, you’ll need accurate, reliable insight. No need to make risky, uninformed decisions—just ask, and ye shall receive (the information you need).
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