In a nutshell: Survey responses are data. How you interpret that data is the analysis. The easiest way to begin that analysis is by sorting survey responses into “buckets.”

When survey responses come pouring in, how do you keep them all straight?

Surveys are one the best tools a credit union can use to build relationships with their members. Everything from online banking to a member’s mortgage application experience could warrant a survey.

To create the best experience for your members, you must understand what they want. First, solicit their feedback. Then, do something meaningful with it. The best way to know what meaningful thing you can do is by sorting their comments for better, deeper analysis. Here’s how…

Why Categorizing Matters

At any given time, you’re probably sending out a slew of surveys. Here are a few benefits to categorizing the comments you receive:

• See at a glance which topics your members reply to the most;
• Identify which topics your members care about the most;
• Know where to invest your resources for maximal member impact; and
• Increase survey analysis efficiency.

Developing a sorting system is a small investment of your time with big returns!

We Recommend “Bucketizing”

We like to call comment curation “bucketizing.” “Bucketizing” is the process of sorting comments by their content into categories, or “buckets.”

This method works best when a credit union has an established employee or team for comment reception.

You can share buckets across your credit union to provide easy access to member feedback. Your marketing team can use positive comments for awareness and outreach campaigns. You can sprinkle them across your social media. And you can quickly see if there are specifics or suggestions related to problem areas.

Allowing comments in surveys gives your members a chance to provide context and makes your job easier!

Over time, you can measure the changes in your buckets—good or bad. Then, quickly assess areas of concern.

The Ideal Buckets

We’ve curated a list of ideal buckets. Here’s how we like to sort things:

• Tenure: If a member mentions how long they’ve been with you.
• Online/mobile banking: If a response mentions or concerns online or mobile banking.
• Products: Lumping product-related comments together makes things easier for developers. Keep them updated!
• Location: For comments about accessing branches and other location-related things.
• Local: Use this bucket when a member makes a comparative comment. For example, the comment mentions credit unions v. banks, small branches vs. Large, or local vs. national.
• Credit union: When members mention your credit union by name, you’ll get a sense of how they talk about you in the community.
• Fees: This isn’t usually anyone’s favorite topic to talk about. So, keep them in one place, grit your teeth, and get through it!
• Wait time: For comments about wait time.
• Branch: This bucket could include comments about how people like the coffee, ease of access, interior décor, etc.
• Rates: Comments about rates go here.
• Service: This bucket is for those valuable answers to questions about the quality of branch and telephone interactions (though we don’t recommend referencing specific employees in survey questions. Click here to see why).
• Security: This is one of the most important building blocks of a member relationship. Be sure to add security-related comments to their own bucket.
• Policy: Find common themes in what members like and don’t like about your policies. See if there’s wiggle room to make them happier.
• Staff: Comments about your credit union’s staff should get their own bucket (but again, maybe skip using names in surveys).

These are just suggestions to help get you started. Use the buckets that best fit your credit union or create your own! If you want to customize your buckets, we can help you curate your ideal list!

The Takeaway

Surveys are the not-so-secret weapon credit unions use to connect with members. At any given time, you probably have multiple surveys going out. That means you’ll have a bunch of responses coming in. Sorting the comments you receive by topic or type could help you stay on top of it all.

Bucketizing comments helps you process survey responses more quickly and efficiently. You’ll see the quantity of responses you receive for any given topic at a glance. Having that ability will help you direct resources more effectively!

Want to survey your credit union members? Book your quick demo with LiveSurvey today!