There are lots of ways for credit unions to go about improvingmember experiences, growing member referrals and increasing theiraverage number of products per member. From launching stafftraining programs to utilizing analytics technology, strategiesdiffer, but the end goals are the same: Build member loyalty, andultimately, spur growth.

Many CUs offer points-based member loyalty programs, which allowmembers to earn points for completing various activities, such asusing a debit card or attending a financial workshop, and spendthem on perks such as lowered loan rates. For example, thePlusPoints Loyalty Program at A+ FCU, an $877 million CU based inAustin, Texas, has led to an average of four products per member,excluding indirect members, Vice President of Marketing Stan Cowanshared.

“Those who participate in the program at high levels are muchmore loyal to A+ FCU and call us their preferred financial institution,”Cowan said. “Also, the more PlusPoints that are earned andredeemed, the higher net promoter score A+ FCU receives.”

For 3Rivers FCU, a $658.6 million CU based in Fort Wayne, Ind.,increased member loyalty lies within a technology solution designedto capture and analyze member feedback, which the CU uses toidentify problem areas and improve member service.

In 2010, 3Rivers FCU implemented the Engage Voice of theCustomer platform from Allegiance, a provider of customer loyaltyand employee retention solutions that serves more than 30 creditunions.

“We had an initiative to gather member input and feedback thatwe could act upon,” said 3Rivers FCU Strategic Marketing Manager Steve Levendoski. “Alot of vendors out there provide services that have to do with callcenters, but we wanted to get feedback from different touch points.Allegiance had a full menu of solutions.”

The CU’s VOC platform collects feedback, including surveyresults and unsolicited input, from multiple channels and filtersit into a single platform that comes equipped with reporting andanalytics tools.

To offer unsolicited feedback, members can click on a buttonlabeled “I have a voice” on the CU’s website to comment, which isfollowed by a five-question member satisfaction survey. The CU alsodistributes relationship surveys via email, which have produced animpressive response rate of 10% to 11%, Levendoski said.

Every two weeks, 3Rivers FCU’s member services team meets todiscuss recent feedback, identify trends and determine plans ofaction. For example, the CU launched an initiative to streamlinethe accessibility of its online banking system after learning itcaused difficulty for some members. Smaller issues also came intoplay–the CU returned the ropes to its teller lines in grocerystores after discovering members were unhappy they wereremoved.

“It’s been a lot of ongoing little things that I think actuallymake a big difference in member satisfaction,” Levendoski said.

Since using Allegiance’s VOC platform, 3Rivers’ member referralshave jumped from an average of 25 per month to more than 200 permonth, and its average number of products per member has increasedfrom 1.75 to 1.81. The CU’s percentage of members carrying twoproducts elevated from 22.02% to 24.76% and its percentage ofmembers with three products increased from 20.76% to 21.9%. 3Rivershas also seen a rise in average checking and savings balances.

“More of our members are now proponents of our brand,”Levendoski said. “Strong proponents tend to use more of ourservices. They also tend to tell others about us, and that makes abig impact on our market share.”

The technology has also allowed 3Rivers FCU to pinpoint engagedmembers and sort them by demographic. “We can segment members intogroups–by age, income, preferred transaction and customerduration–and obtain the percentage of engaged members in eachgroup,” Levendoski said. “We then look at the qualitativeinformation within each group to identify what will have thequickest impact, then come up with a game plan that will increasethe likelihood for less engaged customers to become strongproponents.”

Added Chris Cottle, executive vice president of marketing andproducts for Allegiance, “The credit union business is all aboutrelationships. So, retaining and satisfying members, improvingmember services and continually creating and enhancing member valueis critical.”

Also leveraging analytics technology to advance business atcredit unions is Members Development Co., a member product andservice research and development company jointly owned by creditunions and CUNA Mutual Group. MDC recently formed a partnershipwith Advanced Software Applications, a Pittsburgh-based analyticaltechnology solutions provider, as part of an initiative to offerpredictive analytics tools to its member credit unions. ASA hasallowed participating credit unions to pool their data together,resulting in a lower cost for the CUs, MDC CEO Jeff Kline said.

ASA’s predictive analytics technology can be applied in multiplecredit union departments to identify trends and help managersunderstand where to shift their focus, Kline explained. Forexample, CUs can use the technology to track transaction history,allocate collections data and develop targeted marketing solutions,he said.

“Let’s say you’re trying to determine the best group ofrecipients for home equity marketing materials,” Kline gave as anexample. “If you create a tool that says, mail it to these 20,000people, not these 100,000 people, then you’ve just cut costs.”

One MDC member credit union has implemented ASA’s technologythus far, and several others are in the beginning stages ofimplementation, Kline said.