One thing is certain: credit unions that survey their members get better insight about how to improve their services. Unfortunately, most other things aren’t as certain. For example, there are several different survey platforms available—which survey platform is right for your credit union?
We’ve written around this conundrum a couple times now, but it doesn’t make the question easier. We’ve noticed that there are three basic types of survey platforms for credit unions:
1. Cheap and generic
Cheap and generic doesn’t actually mean bad, in this case. Seriously.
2. Expensive and fully-managed
This is one of those areas where you do get what you pay for. However, are you paying for more than you need? It depends.
3. The “Goldilocks” option
A middle-of-the-road option that balances economy with white-labeled branding and attentive support. But is it juuuuust right for your credit union? Maybe.
What You Need in a Credit Union Survey Platform
Only your credit union can be the best judge of what it needs in a survey platform. The best platform for your credit union will depend on what you need it for. If all you want to do is ask a couple questions, then there’s no reason to shell out for the top-tier option.
Similarly, if your credit union wants a robust approach to surveying and survey strategy, then you might want to avoid the cheaper options out there. With that said, here’s what you can expect from each kind of survey platform.
1. Generic Survey Platform
These survey platforms specialize in surveys for businesses. While that may seem a little redundant, it’s not, necessarily.
Generic survey platforms don’t cater specifically to credit unions in any way. They may lack support for credit union-specific issues, and they may not offer any templates or guidance for how to conduct effective credit union member surveys.
Lastly, most of them—unless you shell out extra for a white-labeled experience—will include their own branding on the survey. If your surveys don’t carry or indicate your credit union’s brand, your members may feel more suspicious or inclined to ignore the survey.
However, generic survey platforms do support basic survey needs, and they’re very easy to use. The best part is, they’re pretty cheap. If your credit union is just starting out on its survey journey, generic survey platforms can be a good stepping stone to more robust, credit union-specific survey platforms.
2. Fully-Managed Survey and Support
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the fully-managed survey options. These are robust survey platforms that do more than just allow you to survey your members.
Fully-managed platforms take out a lot of the guesswork involved in member surveys. They’ll work with you to develop the questions they think you’ll need. They’ll also craft a comprehensive survey strategy for your credit union.
Fully-managed survey platforms also help credit unions collect, interpret, and report results. Because most fully-managed platforms have extensive credit union experience, they may be able to make strategic recommendations to push your credit union in the right direction.
The cost of this kind of white-glove, white-label service is very high, though. For one, you lose a certain degree of control over your surveys. Second, unless surveys are going to be a significant part of your credit union’s development strategy, the price tag might be a little high.
3. Credit Union-Specific Survey Platform
The third type of survey platform presents a middle-of-the-road choice. This option offers the same credit union industry-specific knowledge and support as the fully-managed platform, but it cedes creation, control, and interpretation of the survey to the credit union.
The goldilocks option offers a significant upgrade over the functionality of the generic survey platform, including things like:
- Credit union survey templates
- Support staff with credit union experience
- White-labeled surveys
- An easy-to-read dashboard to manage or export surveys
- Ability to send surveys minutes after a member completes a transaction
- Real-time survey results
- Competitive pricing
Perks like the survey dashboard make interpreting survey results extremely easy. However, unlike with the fully-managed option, the onus is still on your credit union to decide what to do with that survey data.
Don’t Know Which to Choose?
If you’re curious about credit union member surveys, you should do a little shopping around. Try a demo or familiarize yourself with a product to see which will work best for your credit union.
Also, you can stay abreast of credit union survey methods and strategies on our blog. We try to keep it updated as often as possible. Feel free to follow the links below to learn more!
