Many credit unions are investing in online survey technologies to conduct surveys of online banking users. Using online surveys for a wider range of research applications can help credit unions maximize their investment and enhance their decision-making.The two examples below illustrate different ways credit unions can expand their use online survey technology to accomplish their goals.
Using Website Polls to Increase Member Participation: Florida Credit Union
After a recent website redesign, Florida Credit Union ($ 277M, Gainesville, FL) decided to use periodic website polls to obtain member feedback in addition to their quarterly online member surveys. According to Chris Clore,Vice President, Marketing The surveys are a great way to involve members in their credit union and get quick feedback.
Florida places a new survey on their homepage about every four weeks with a short break between surveys. The survey is accessed through a button requesting member input. Surveys are on a wide range of topics and typically consist of two to four short questions. After responding, members can see graphs showing cumulative responses for selected questions.
Florida has run website polls on topics such as mortgages, radio station listening habits, and calculator usage. Even though the polls are brief, FCU has found the data to be helpful. The member poll on radio listening habits helped us see where we should be targeting our advertising dollars for loans and promotions, explains Clore. The calculator poll was designed to not only understand member reactions to our calculators, but also to heighten awareness of our calculators. After the survey, members could click a link to access FCU’s calculator page.
Apple FCU: Conducting Internal Surveys Online
Apple FCU ($823M, Fairfax, VA) has found significant advantages in using online surveys to conduct their internal employee surveys. We have 12 branches, so using paper surveys is not very effective in terms of distributing and collecting responses.We have increased responses with much greater efficiency than using paper surveys, reports Cynthia McAree, Vice President of Marketing. She reports that online surveys consistently receive a 75% response rate.
Each quarter, Apple conducts employee satisfaction surveys to ensure that they are maintaining satisfaction levels as part of their organizational objectives. When we switched to quarterly tracking, we realized that we needed a more efficient way to collect and analyze the data, McAree explains. They’ve also found the data is more accurate. The survey program enables the user to set-up questions using a variety of formats, and to branch questions based on previous responses.
Using online surveys has enhanced Apple’s ability to share results internally. Survey responses have been placed on the Apple’s intranet so that all employees could see the survey results. With the faster turnaround, charts and data can be more quickly shared with team members.
Apple has also found online surveys to be effective in gathering and sharing information with their board. They are able to create and send out a quick survey as issues arise before board meetings.
These two examples illustrate how credit unions can extend the use of online surveys to accomplish different credit union goals. For more information on conducting online surveys, join our webinar, Effective Online Surveying: Obtaining Actionable Member Feedback , brought to you by the Callahan Center for Credit Union Leadership.
