MADISON, Wis. – Filene Research Institute on Tuesday introduced a new advisory program known as "Member Journey" that is designed to help credit unions identify and eliminate member barriers to key credit union services.
Examples offered by the credit union think tank include obtaining a new membership, opening a new account, applying for a loan, or resolving an issue by focusing on the member journey and ease of use.
Filene noted the Harvard Business Review recently published research on factors impacting customer loyalty. The study asked a single question: "How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request?" The study found a high correlation between low customer effort and loyalty.
In a new Filene report, Member Effort Benchmarking: Measuring Ease of Use, researchers explored a similar question: whether reducing member effort increases member loyalty. According to Filene, measures such as Member Effort Score (in coordination with satisfaction or Net Promoter Score) can be used to track progress as credit unions seek to improve core lending and member engagement.
Filene said it found significant variation in ease of use across credit unions.
"Credit unions generally enjoy strong market share in consumer lending, especially with auto loans, but mortgage lending lags at around 7% market share," Jenny Darroch, professor at Drucker School of Management and author of the Filene report, said in a statement. "One reason for this difference in market share might be a more streamlined process, therefore, a better member experience."
MemberXP is collaborating with Filene to deliver the Member Journey program to credit unions. Constance Anderson, the company's president, said, "The first step is to collect data to ensure we understand member and prospective member needs – but data is a dead end on the road to an exceptional member journey unless you have the analytics and tools to drive improvement."
According to Filene, the Member Journey program leverages research and learning from other successful Filene programs to help credit unions meet their goals: including improving mortgage lending, problem resolution or new membership processes. Filene said its advisors will walk each credit union through a three-step process that is customizable each step of the way: Benchmarking Ease of Use, Journey Mapping and Amplifying the Member Experience.
"As people have simpler and more engaging experiences with organizations such as Uber and Amazon, their demand to save time and effort will grow," said Tansley Stearns, chief impact officer for Filene. "Credit unions must respond to this new market demand to really differentiate themselves."
Learn more about Filene's Member Journey
