For credit unions or CUSOs looking to take their products and services to the next level, it’s important for them to keep in touch with their customers. One of the tried-and-true methods of determining customer satisfaction is by administering brief surveys. We’ll take a look at the two main types of surveys that are offered: transactional surveys and relationship surveys.

Both types of survey measure a company’s net promoter score (NPS). An NPS is a standardized metric by which a company can determine its success (or—gulp!—lack thereof). This NPS score could be anywhere from -100 to 100, with positive numbers indicating favorable reviews, and negative numbers reflecting unfavorable reviews.

Of course, just knowing how customers feel about a credit union or CUSO or its services isn’t very useful on its own. Surveys must be strategically administered so you can learn about the responses you get.

Let’s look at the two different survey types: transactional surveys and relationship surveys.

Relationship Surveys

Some of the best time-wasters on the internet are quizzes. Better than listicles, quizzes scratch a narcissistic itch that almost everybody has now and then. Want to know which Hogwarts house the sorting hat would put you in? Ravenclaw! Want to know what your love language is? Acts of service! Want to know if your relationship is going to work out? Of course!

The problem with those quizzes is that they probably don’t tell you anything you don’t already know. A good quiz can deliver measurable data.

Relationship surveys tell a company how well their customers like them in general. They might ask something like, “rate your overall satisfaction with our brand/organization.” After enough people have responded to the survey, they can measure their NPS to see how well people like them.

The first survey result might only paint a picture of where a company sits, but periodically-administered relationship surveys can help a company track their progress over time. Relationship surveys tend to assess only the strength of the relationship between a business and its customers.

The downside of relationship surveys is that they can’t deliver actionable data. It’s great to know how you’re doing, but sometimes, you want to know more.

Enter the Transactional Survey

If you want to know more than just how people feel about your credit union or CUSO in general, you have options. A timely transactional survey can tell you about how people feel about specific products or services.

Using the same NPS system as before, a transactional survey might ask something like, “how would you rate your experience of taking out a loan?” or “how satisfied are you with your new credit card?”

The idea behind transactional surveys is that they provide immediate and actionable data. If, after rolling out a new feature or product, a credit union or CUSO sees that their NPS from transactional survey results decline precipitously, they can use that information to try to improve the product and mend their relationship with their customers.

How They Relate

Both surveys measure customer satisfaction and deliver the same standardized NPS output. However, the two types of surveys are not interchangeable.

Transactional surveys can tell you how people like your products and services, but they can’t tell you how people like you. Relationship surveys can tell you how people like you, but they can’t tell you if people are satisfied with your products and services.

There’s a good chance that if people are consistently thrilled by your offerings, they’ll probably like you. Similarly, if they like you, they’re more likely to appreciate your products and services. However, too many bad specific interactions might sour your customers on your brand over time.

If you want to know more about how surveys can help you improve your brand and its products or services, LiveSurvey can give you the tools you need to see how people feel. Click here to learn more.

If you’re interested in surveys, then check out these blogs below:

Why are Relationship Surveys Important?

What are the Pros and Cons of a Net Promoter Score?

The Answer to the Number One Question – NPS or MES. That is the question.