7 legit drivers of member satisfaction

September 25, 2015 by Preston Packer

“And the award goes to…” Ok, it’s not an Emmy, an Oscar, not even an MVP trophy. In fact, we’re not really even talking about an award per se. But congratulations are in order for credit unions. The CFI Group’s 2015 Credit Union Satisfaction Index came out this week and the results tell both a tale of member happiness, as well as offer a warning to CU management.

Credit unions are doing a better job than banks when it comes to keeping customers happy, according to CFI Group’s 2015 Credit Union Satisfaction Index released Tuesday, and there are at least seven reasons for that success.

“This is the third year we’ve measured customer satisfaction with credit unions and the results have been consistently strong,” CFI Group CEO Sheri Petras said. “The score of 87 is eight points ahead of the banking average and 13 points ahead of the highest-scoring bank measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.”

According to the study, seven drivers have the most impact on whether members are happy with their credit unions in 2015: Products and services, information and communications, branch staff, branch convenience, ATMs, rates and fees, and online and mobile banking.

“Improvements in these areas will have a direct impact on the CUSI score, which in turn will drive member loyalty higher, increase the number of recommendations given, and enhance the likelihood that members will use additional credit union products and services in the future,” the study said.