Do We Really Want to Know What Members Think?

May 13, 2005

As competition for our members’ business heats up, credit unions are focusing on member services satisfaction. With new technology you no longer have to wait two years to learn how your service was today.

Many credit union marketers are familiar with the traditional paper survey mailed to members annually or bi-annually. The results from these surveys provide valuable information on members and their financial behaviors and perspectives regarding credit unions and other financial service providers. But most marketers wish they could “ask their members” regularly, gathering more timely information that would help them to package services, improve processes, or respond to members' needs. Just as e-statements started eliminating paper in the year 2000, e-surveys are eliminating tedious steps and costs in the process of asking members what they think. Credit union executives are turning to shorter, more frequent electronic surveys to help them respond to changing circumstances and benchmark results.

Measure and Manage: A CU Example

I'm sure you've heard the old expression, “You can't manage what you can't measure.” Even if you do measure, why measure every two years when today's technology can gauge satisfaction, help improve processes, and reduce expenses 24/7 for pennies?

For example, Northwest FCU (www.northwestfcu.org) launched four mini-surveys, in both electronic and paper versions, to gauge their member satisfaction rating. Their goal was to monitor the benchmarked customer satisfaction rating determined in their biennial comprehensive survey so that they could react/adjust accordingly. The key points are:

Phenomenal Results

In a recent webinar focused on online surveys, Valerie Passwaiter, senior marketing specialist for NWFCU, commented that “while we are happy with the paper-based responses to the surveys, e-mailed online response rates have been phenomenal. E-mailed online survey response rates are higher, faster, and cheaper to process.” The table below shares stats on NWFCU's member satisfaction mini-survey:

Passwaiter also said that “across our four e-surveys, members who were invited via e-mail were two to four times more likely to participate, much more likely to respond within a short period of time, and required no additional staff time for response processing. As well, e-mail costs are negligible when compared to postal costs. The best thing of all was the valuable response data that we received from our members.”

E-Surveys Deliver Better Results

When NWFCU spoke with their provider of their biennial survey service about putting in place a more frequent survey program, they were told to purchase a statistical software package and hire a full-time researcher. Instead, they opted for an online e-survey program and e-mail invitation service, gaining all they had sought, at a fraction of the cost.

Short, simple e-surveys delivered via an e-mail invitation (or via paper with a link to the online version) are providing CU managers with a high-value, low-cost means to ask members to communicate their experiences with, and interest in, their CU. With today's technology, you can survey members without paper, postage, or collating surveys. Best of all, the results are instantly measurable and, when properly planned, the action items jump right off the page.

This article first appeared on the Callahan & Associates website at www.creditunions.com and is reprinted with permission. DigitalMailer employs active white-list management and opt-in e-mail practices that help credit unions use the Internet to communicate with their members. Contact Ron Daly rdaly@digitalmailer.com or Greg Crandell gcrandell@digitalmailer.com for additional information.

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