They say loyalty is hard to come by these days – but what if I told you there were proven strategies that could make it easier? In today’s fast-paced world, where everyone seems to be constantly on the move chasing the next best thing, keeping members engaged and committed can feel like an uphill battle. But fear not! We want to equip you with powerful member retention strategies that will have your community sticking with you through thick and thin. So get ready for a deep dive into the strategy of fostering loyalty among your members.
Member Retention Strategies You Are Probably Already Implementing
So that we won’t rehash information you have already read, here are a few strategies we’ve talked about previously:
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- Frequent communication
- Mobile and online banking services
- Loyalty and rewards programs
- Personalize member engagement
- Employee training
- Generational marketing and services
- Financial literacy
- Optimize the onboarding process
Oldies But Goodies: Strategies You Can’t Forget
You’ve read about these strategies before, but we’ve never talked about them on our blog, so they bear repeating. It’s important not to lapse or de-prioritize certain efforts just because they are common; otherwise, you will lag behind your competitors and miss out on great opportunities to serve your members well.
Here are some oldies but goodies:
Responsive Member Support
Your member support is what defines your credit union and separates it from the bank next door. Your team is empathetic, trained, and knowledgeable. First, you need to implement multiple channels for member support – in-person, drive-through, phone, email, and chat. Then, with all of the digital avenues you serve your members, it’s important to remember to be responsive across all of those channels, which can be especially challenging for member support personnel who are tasked with managing multiple channels at once.
For example, if you have personnel speaking to walk-ins, taking phone calls, and responding to chat and email questions, you need to provide them with a process and prioritization to help them navigate the situations when they get bogged down with requests. Do they pull someone else to provide additional support? Do they answer the phone while speaking to someone in person? What about emails and chat? Have answers in place while training your member support staff to help prepare them for these situations. Then provide them with backup for those really hectic hours.
Member Feedback and Surveys
After your member support team helps members, they need to note any feedback they receive from members. Then, they need a process to use to bring that feedback to your attention, whether that’s through recurring meetings, a ticket system, or another process.
Most of the time, your support personnel will be able to bring recurring challenges to your attention so your credit union can further refine support efforts to minimize those challenges. On the other hand, sometimes a member will have a big challenge or outlier feedback that may or may not merit further discussion and investigation.
In addition to member feedback, your credit union should send out surveys on a regular basis to see how your members are doing, how they feel about your service, and anything new they may need. You can provide surveys in person at your brand, via direct mail, or send them digitally via push notification, text, or email.
After receiving feedback and survey responses, remember to act upon that feedback. Use member feedback to drive improvements in your products and services.
Community Involvement
When was the last time you had a booth at a local festival, walked in a local parade, sponsored a charitable event, taught a financial literacy class, hosted an event for the community, or hosted a member appreciation event? While considered old school, participating and hosting local events strengthens community ties and helps you connect with prospective members who otherwise wouldn’t consider using your services.
Referral Programs
Take your loyalty program further by implementing a referral program. Incentivize credit union members to recommend their friends and family to join by providing referral bonuses or rewards. Make sure you enable referral program tracking in your app and online accounts.
Effective Marketing
Effective marketing goes beyond sharing what interest rate your CDs are currently getting. Showcase the breadth of your services and let your audience know how you can support them through the big and small changes and challenges in their lives.
Create marketing campaigns that bring attention to the exclusive benefits, core values, and competitive strengths of your credit union. Share success stories and positive feedback from happy members. Let them know how easy it is to use your services and digital platforms.
Reduced Fees and Competitive Rates
With the cost of living and interest rates increasing, it’s critical for your credit union to reduce fees and provide competitive interest rates. While you still need to make money as a business, remember that many members today are quick to leave your credit union if they find a better interest rate or lower fees at another financial institution.
Go back to your member feedback and surveys to see what your members want. For example, if you can’t provide a lower interest rate for loans, offer a higher-yield savings account. If your CDs are maxed out, get rid of or reduce ATM fees or overdraft fees. If many members always overdraft and then have a tendency to leave your institution for another afterward, consider getting rid of overdraft fees.
5 New Member Retention Strategies
No matter how much you focus on retention efforts, there are always new strategies to try and refine. Here are five new member retention strategies your credit union needs to implement:
Cross-Selling and Upselling
Back in the day, when a member started talking about his big plans to propose to his girlfriend while depositing his weekly check, you could inform him of your savings and loan options for the wedding. When another member walked in to deposit change and she was clearly pregnant, talking about her upcoming baby shower, you could recommend savings plans and loan options for a family van.
But in this digital age, you don’t always learn about your members’ life events. Here are a few other ways you can learn about your members’ financial situations in order to cross-sell and upsell:
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- Watch their transaction history and look for patterns that may indicate a need for your services.
- View their credit reports to see if they could benefit from better loan terms or a higher credit card limit.
- Profile your members based on the data you have on them (financial history, account types, transaction history, and demographics) in order to cross-sell and upsell.
- Respond to member inquiries promptly; when you spot recurring challenges, integrate the answer into your marketing efforts.
- Consider their age and generational tendencies, and cross-sell and upsell accordingly.
In the end, cross-selling and upselling with the intention of helping members can encourage their use of your services, which, in turn, helps improve member retention.
Regular Account Reviews
A great way to cross-sell, upsell, and just plain sell your services is to provide regular account reviews. Encourage annual meetings (in-person, phone, or virtual) to discuss the members’ financial situation, questions, and needs. Give your members the option to book an appointment online or in your app.
Members often experience big life changes and they don’t consider the financial implications right away, or they don’t know that your credit union can support them through that change. Just having a quick meeting with a member to discuss their goals, worries, and current money stresses can provide them with much-needed support while giving you the opportunity to upsell and cross-sell as appropriate.
Remember, don’t just provide financial advice as a way to line your credit union’s proverbial pockets. That’s typically a big bank experience. Instead, align your credit unions with other professionals whom you could recommend to your members when their needs are outside of your credit union’s scope of services, such as accountants, tax preparers, business consultants, insurance brokers, real estate agents, and financial advisors.
Member Advisory Councils
Establishing member advisory councils or committees is an invaluable approach to ensuring credit union members have a voice in the decision-making processes and operations. By creating such groups, credit unions can solicit direct input from their members, allowing for a more democratic and inclusive environment, which can help with member retention.
These advisory councils or committees can comprise representatives from diverse backgrounds and demographics to reflect the membership as accurately as possible. Members of these councils would serve as a liaison between the credit union’s management and the larger membership base, fostering transparency in communication and decision-making.
The primary purpose of these advisory councils or committees is to review existing programs, policies, or new initiatives proposed by the credit union. They can also provide insights on customer experience improvement strategies or suggestions for developing new financial products tailored to member needs.
Regular meetings should be held between management and the advisory council, maintaining open lines of communication throughout. Credit unions may consider including these representatives in strategic planning sessions or inviting them to attend board meetings occasionally.
Ultimately, instituting member advisory councils or committees adds an additional layer of accountability that ensures decisions are made collaboratively with member interests at heart. It promotes a stronger partnership between the credit union and its members by fostering mutual trust, engagement, and shared ownership over organizational outcomes.
Proactive Problem Resolution
One key to member retention is to consistently demonstrate to your members that their concerns are heard and valued. Because of that, it is important to proactively identify and address issues before they escalate into major problems. By continuously monitoring and staying in tune with the needs of your members, you can quickly respond to and resolve any emerging issues.
In addition to being proactive, it is essential to communicate openly with your members about the progress made in addressing their concerns. This transparent approach helps establish trust and reassures them that their feedback is acted upon promptly. Timely updates on the status of issues and the actions taken for resolution will foster a sense of inclusiveness among members.
Time Messages Right
Arguably the most important member retention strategy is timing. Without the right timing, none of the other strategies will work. You can’t cross-sell an auto loan after a member buys that mom van or resolve a problem after a member leaves your credit union.
Here are a few ways you can time messages right:
- Send low-balance notices
- Provide billing and payment reminders
- Send security alerts and updates
- Segment your audience
- Use trigger-based marketing
- Announce service updates, changes, and interruptions
Often, you can cross-sell and upsell your other services with these automated and timely messages.
For example, when another bank collapses, promptly reiterate how secure your members’ funds are with your credit union. Share an alert on your website, send a push notification, send emails and texts, post about it on social media, and share it on any other platform you use.
Retain Members with the Right Tech: Partner with IMS Integration
Member retention is crucial for the long-term success of any credit union. It is important for credit unions to prioritize member satisfaction and engagement by cross-selling and upselling, reviewing member accounts, implementing member advisory councils, being proactive about problem resolution, and timing messages right.
By investing in member retention strategies, credit unions can build strong relationships with their members and create a loyal customer base that will contribute to their growth and sustainability in the future.
Additionally, leveraging the right technology can help streamline processes and enhance the overall member experience, which, in turn, helps you retain more members. At IMS Integration, we provide a variety of technology solutions for Corelation and Symitar cores that can help you better serve your members and improve your member retention efforts. Get started today.
