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Top 5 Loan Management Software Solutions for Credit Unions
Find the best loan management software for your credit union. Automate tasks, reduce onboarding time and stay competitive.
Uncover five effective strategies to transform your credit union's member experience. Boost satisfaction and retention to maintain your competitive edge.
Credit unions succeed by developing strong bonds with their members. Member experience influences the way customers engage with and perceive your credit union.
Banks and credit unions lose up to a quarter of new customers within 12 months. This is very concerning, considering acquiring a new customer costs around $440.
A positive member experience will boost customer satisfaction and positively impact word-of-mouth advertising, customer retention, and your organization’s bottom line.
Credit unions must enhance the customer experience at every point of contact to maintain their competitive edge. These organizations can boost customer satisfaction through financial expertise and providing competitive products.
Learn five practical strategies for improving the member experience for credit unions.
1. Always Put the Member First
Others often say that the customer is king! This rings true for all commercial endeavors, including credit unions. However, smiling and being courteous to members is not enough. To put the customer first, your credit union must be able to address their exact needs and preferences.
Credit unions must take the time to engage with their members and collect their feedback. This will help them better understand customer needs. Afterward, you can use the insights to develop personalized services and products that match those requirements.
Global marketers listed these top benefits of successful personalization in 2023:
- 51% improved customer experiences
- 50% increased their customer retention
- 50% increased their revenue
- 38% improved their engagement
If you want to leave a lasting impression, provide guidance and solutions to your members. There are several ways to achieve the above, including ensuring open and transparent communication, attending community events and offering advice, and creating internal guidelines prioritizing member preferences.
2. Create a Seamless Digital Experience
According to The Jack Henry 2024 Strategy Benchmark, 37% of credit unions plan to boost their technology spending from 6% to 10% over the next two years.
Credit unions can retain their current members and attract new ones by prioritizing a seamless experience, personalizing interactions, and aligning their touchpoints over their digital platforms.
An easy-to-use and connected website and mobile app can provide a unified experience. On average, 74% of customers expect a seamless online experience on their phone, website, or in person. To move closer to this reality, credit unions must adopt user-friendly digital platforms that have the following key features:
A) Navigation
Intuitive navigation is essential to any digital platform as it is how your users will find information. It refers to how users move around the platform, including menus, buttons, and page hierarchy. Efficient navigation ensures that users find what they want effortlessly.
B) Accessibility
Websites and mobile apps should make accessing services and crucial information easier for credit union members. To boost accessibility, you can ensure that your credit union's digital platforms use good formatting and high-contrast text and offer flexible customer support options.
C) Online Banking
Most credit unions offer online banking services for free or a marginal fee. The best digital platforms enable customers to look up balances and even apply for specific types of loans. Other valuable features include transferring funds, opening new accounts, and deactivating cards you suspect someone stole.
D) Mobile Optimization
On average, 78% of American adults say they prefer to use mobile banking. Most users expect your mobile and desktop website versions to be compatible. Credit unions should optimize their digital platforms to make it easier for users to move between various versions of their websites.
E) Robust Customer Support Options
Personalization allows credit unions to suggest custom resources to help every member accomplish that member’s unique task. Personalized customer support resources include customer service chats, value-added services, and self-servicing options.
User experience (UX) plays a vital role in member satisfaction. Half of consumers base their impression of businesses on web design. Members are more likely to spend more time on your site when they enjoy it.
3. Offer High-Quality Member Service
Every thriving credit union has a strong service culture where employees go the extra mile to satisfy member needs. Continuously training employees can yield huge rewards for your credit union.
Companies that offer comprehensive training programs to their staff members can increase their profits by up to 24%. Employees who undergo continuous training also bring in 218% more income per staff member than those who don’t.
Credit unions exist to help their members achieve their goals and meet their needs. As such, you should aim to train all staff in your credit union to implement a member-centric culture.
To train staff for exceptional service and promote a member-centric culture, your credit union should look into the following:
- Establishing a culture of continuous learning to ensure that staff members are continuously improving
- Creating training programs that are in line with organizational policies and the member’s needs
- Using on-the-job training and practical exercises to boost knowledge retention
- Using performance indicators and feedback surveys to evaluate training
4. Promote Community Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility
Throughout history, people have seen credit unions as difference-makers in the communities in which they operate. These organizations can differentiate themselves and boost member experience through community engagement. Community engagement and corporate social responsibility can lead to a positive member experience by building trust and loyalty over the long term. This can promote service and product adoption and drive growth as members become brand advocates.
You can boost your credit union’s connection with the community in a variety of ways, including:
- Supporting community initiatives like local charities for special needs groups, older adults, or children
- Encouraging members to volunteer for community service
- Sponsoring local community events like festivals, educational workshops, and fundraisers
5. Measure and Improve the Member Experience
Credit unions can improve member experiences by tracking retention, engagement, and satisfaction. However, measuring these key metrics goes beyond analyzing numbers. You must be willing to collect the data needed to understand and boost member experiences.
Some of the strategies you can use to measure member experience include:
A) Focus Groups
This approach brings members together to discuss their in-depth opinions, preferences, and experiences. Focus groups offer a qualitative approach to assessing members' needs and perceptions.
B) Social Listening
Monitor internet communities and social media platforms to gather real-time member sentiment and feedback. This allows you to identify emerging issues or trends, engage with members, and address problems swiftly.
C) Net Promoter Score (NPS) Surveys
These surveys indicate satisfaction and loyalty. They evaluate the likelihood of a member recommending the credit union to others.
D) Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Surveys
Credit unions can use these surveys to identify specific areas of concern. CSAT surveys evaluate member satisfaction levels with particular interactions or transactions with your credit union.
The data you collect using the above strategies provides valuable insights into members' needs. You can use this information to customize support, services, and product offerings. The insights can also help you identify why you might be losing customers and inspire new ways to retain or attract new customers.
Push Your Credit Union’s Member Experience to the Next Level
Member experience is a key factor in the success or failure of today’s credit unions. In addition to keeping true to their community values, these organizations must also work towards providing the best-in-class member experience. To thrive, your credit union must focus on providing quality member service, a seamless digital experience, and utmost personalization.
