Customer engagement at credit unions is slipping: Here’s how to reverse the trend
By helping people improve their financial well-being and become more digitally savvy, credit unions can restore the advantage in customer engagement they once had over banks and fintechs — even as these competitors adopt credit unions’ traditional differentiators.
Credit unions have always enjoyed higher customer engagement than their competitors. Because they don’t have to be concerned with pleasing Wall Street, these financial institutions can spend more time listening to the people they serve — “members” in credit union terminology — and prioritize being helpful to them above all else.
This type of customer focus pays off. In a recent banking study, Gallup found that 73% of members who felt their credit union cared for their financial well-being were “engaged,” meaning they had a rational, emotional, and psychological attachment to the brand. Among those who did not feel their credit union cared for their financial well-being, only 20% were engaged.
With higher engagement, credit unions see some tangible gains. Engaged members buy more products, stay longer with the credit union, and are more likely to consider it their primary financial institution.
But has this advantage run its course?
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