LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -
"The credit union hadn't conducted a membership survey in the last 10 to 15 years," said Benedict, an 18-year credit union veteran who spent the past six years as head of the $25.9-million, education-based credit union. "We have a highly educated group of members with multiple financial institution relationships and we needed to find out which of our services they were using and why."
As it's name implies, the Liverpool Central Schools FCU, founded in 1956, serves school district faculty, staff and students in Liverpool, a small community located 10 miles north of Syracuse, N.Y. The district, which consists of a high school, a middle school and six elementary schools, has 4,700 employees, of which 3,800 are already credit union members.
The district also has about 10,000 students, a pie from which the credit union has a much smaller slice.
Benedict contracted with CUNA Market Research to conduct the February survey, which generated a whopping 36% response. The credit union's 10-member staff received exceptionally high marks, along with high levels of member satisfaction overall and positive comments on staff knowledge, service convenience and the credit union's loan program. However, one indicator surprised the credit union veteran.
"We thought because our members were well-educated, they'd be willing or wanting more in the way of electronic services, but they told us they much preferred doing business with credit union staff in person," Benedict said. "I was really surprised by that response."
The genesis of that preference may have been the school rep program, a traditional approach that involves placing credit union volunteers in each of the schools, a strategy the credit union continues to employ. There was also a greater demand for educational seminars on personal finance, including investment strategies, which some fairly sophisticated financial concepts that the credit union didn't support through services. Nonetheless, Benedict said members requested basic investment training because of trust in their credit union.
Some electronic service additions were mentioned, including electronic bill payment, which Liverpool Central Schools FCU doesn't offer. Adding that service to the menu is now on a list of products being considered.
The credit union's more traditional service approach, while acknowledged as a strength by its members, may be a weakness when it comes to expansion. As a single-sponsor credit union, Liverpool Central Schools FCU may enjoy fierce allegiance from members, but the number of potential members isn't growing appreciably.
Lack of penetration among students, who are approached as high school juniors and seniors, is the result of a current strategy that waits until the kids are too old and already have established relationships with financial institutions. Benedict is considering altering the policy and going after middle school students who have yet to find their first financial institution relationship.
The credit union also is considering the best way to expand its charter to encompass more member groups. Liverpool Central FCU's board has shied away from pursuing a community charter, afraid it would cause the credit union to lose its market distinction and service niche advantage. The presence of several large community-chartered credit unions serving the area has kept the concept at bay for the present, Benedict said.
"Can we survive serving just one group?" she asked. "The district is declining and I think we're going to have to look elsewhere for members if we want to grow."
Currently, Benedict and her board are leaning towards adding more SEG groups, particularly those with education or other professional service affiliations. The topic will receive serious consideration at the board planning session at the end of September, largely because the credit union can expect little growth under its current scenario.
"If I had to choose, our approach would be to add more SEGs because our market already is saturated with community charters," Benedict said. "Community charters are currently like the flavor of the month. In the long run, I don't know whether the concept will hurt or help credit unions."
