As the banking industry hurtles headlong into the digitalage, the differences between banks and credit unions will take on anew twist. Will mission driven non-profits have the same appealthey've had in the past? Is it possible to be both mission-drivenand offer the latest in financial technology? Willconsumers increasingly want convenience above anything else?

To find answers to these questions, we at MX surveyed more than1,000 random U.S. consumers over the age of 24. What we found hasimplications for the way credit unions market to members andprospective members.

First, we found that while 43% of consumers said they prefer abank and 38% said they prefer a credit union, a full 19% say thatthey don't like either option. This doesn't bode well fortraditional institutions, given that alternative choices such asLending Club continue to grow.

It's clearly time for traditional players to aggressivelyadvocate for consumers so they can maintain their preferential leadagainst alternative lenders for decades to come.

To get a feel for the current state of the industry, wealso asked consumers which type of institution they actually usefor their regular checking. We found that 71% said they use a bank(44% big bank and 27% community bank) while 28% use a creditunion.

The disparity between this question and the last one is worthnoting: Thirty-eight percent of consumers say they prefer a creditunion, but only 28% actually use them for their checking. This is agap that credit union marketers can help close by articulating moreclearly how their checking accounts offer consumers the mostbenefits.

Consumers are also more likely to open a credit card witha bank, or use options that are primarily online such as Amazon orCapital One.

However, consumers are more likely to open an auto loanwith a credit union than anywhere else. This signifies an areawhere credit unions can double down — making this value propositioneven more pronounced.

Our most important finding, though, has to do with the featuresthat consumers say they're looking for when selecting a bank orcredit union. More than anything else, consumers are looking forlower fees and better digital (online and mobile) features.

We also asked for open-ended responses and grouped them bytopics. In this section we found that 39% of consumers said theylook for better rates and fewer fees, 21% said convenience, andonly 3% said member owned.

Only 3%.

Taken together, this data indicates that credit unions have anopportunity to market themselves on two major fronts. The first isto stake a claim in being the go-to solution for gettingthe cheapest rates and lowest fees, especially for auto loans. Thesecond is to make strides to offer cutting-edge technology.

That's it.

If a credit union spends time trying to win on the factthat they're member owned, they're fighting a losing battle.Consumers don't care. Instead, consumers want better rates andbetter technology whether those benefits come from being memberowned or not.

Fortunately for credit unions, they can win on both of thesefronts. They can be known for offering better rates (because theygenerally do), and they can either develop cutting edge technologyor partner with the right fintech company.

By focusing exclusively on these two fronts, credit unions arein a good spot to lead the future of banking.

Jon Ogden is director of content at MX. He can be reachedat 801-669-5500 or [email protected].