Does Your Credit Union Have the Right Member Loyalty Program?

Consumers have gotten used to getting perks, loyalty discounts and rewards wherever they go these days. So, how’s a credit union supposed to compete?

A recent study from TechnologyAdvice took a look at what consumers want out of a loyalty program and what they don’t. Respondents said they’d be over 80% more likely to shop at stores that offered some type of loyalty program. The main reason they participate in loyalty programs at all? 57% said it was to save money. And it turns out that exclusive rewards were 57% more likely to incentivize participation. Most significantly, 82% of respondents said they’d be “more likely” or “much more likely” to shop at stores that offer loyalty programs.

Loyalty Programs and Your CU

We know that you need to attract members, not consumers, and that you’re not a store or retailer. But credit unions could still use these facts as a springboard to start a loyalty or rewards program for its members. This study is just one of many that pinpoint how vital a rewards program can be to attract new members and increase current members’ loyalty.

The go-to loyalty program for most financial institutions tends to be a credit card rewards program. ScoreCard Rewards is one of the more popular programs, but there are plenty of others out there. The problem of going with a program like this is it’s somewhat counter-intuitive to what credit unions are all about. If you’re truly putting your members first, then you might want to think about how it looks to reward them for spending money and potentially going into debt.

Why not reward your members and give them valuable discounts on things they already buy or use on a daily basis like a car, smartphone, satellite TV or tax preparation? That’s what Love My Credit Union Rewards is all about. This exclusive member discount program was created specifically to help members save and for credit unions to build member loyalty – and hopefully attract new members at the same time.

Whether your credit union already has a loyalty program in place, or whether it chooses to use Love My Credit Union Rewards or not, we encourage you to seriously think about having the right programs with the right benefits for both you and your members. 

Getting it Right: Dow Chemical Employees' Credit Union

Name: Dow Chemical Employees' Credit Union
State: Michigan
Assets: $1,481,052,435
Members: 56,687
Website: www.dcecu.org
 
With 51 select employer groups in its field of membership, Dow Chemical Employees’ Credit Union (DCECU) knows SEGs. Regardless of what employer its members work for, they all have one thing in common – strong member loyalty. “Our members are very loyal to us,” says Barbara Ostroski-Enos, marketing director at DCECU. “Many of them have been members since the 1940s and are known to say ‘we started this credit union and it’s ours.’”

One thing that keeps its members loyal is that DCECU has a dedicated business development specialist that visits each company and whose main job is to keep the lines of communication open with them. The second thing that keeps members loyal is the credit union’s tradition of paying its members rewards each year. To date, they’ve given back $11.5 million to its members.

This generosity doesn’t go unnoticed by its members or their coworkers. Many new members have joined over the years thanks to news spreading about DCECU’s rewards. The credit union’s strong member loyalty definitely sets them apart. Barbara states, “It makes us feel good and differentiates us from the competition.”

Give SEG Member Loyalty a Boost at Your Credit Union

  by Amy Neale

A natural outcome of any SEG relationship is that at some point membership growth will level off or even decline. Either the newness wears off or your one-on-one relationship with the SEG relationship has hit a roadblock. This is where a member rewards program can be your credit union’s best friend.

Reward programs have become the go-to strategy to build customer loyalty for marketing departments in all industries. For your credit union, you should already have strong SEG member loyalty, so a rewards program is your opportunity to reinforce, and even boost, that loyalty.

Since they were first introduced as S&H Green Stamps in the late 1800s, reward programs have played an important part in customer loyalty. Today, the number of reward programs in the U.S. has reached 1.3 billion, according to Colloquy research. Your average American belongs to about 18 reward programs and 54% of them would consider increasing the amount of business they do with a company that offers a loyalty program.

But not just any rewards program will do for your credit union. You need to choose one whose goals underline your credit union’s brand strategy and mission and your SEG goals. To help make your SEG relationship a sticky one, your rewards program needs to be well-planned and well-executed. 

Invest in America was created solely for the credit union industry to help credit unions align their core products with its exclusive discounts and to help members save. It strives to have something for everyone with the Credit Union Discount from GM, the Sprint Credit Union Member Discount and more. But what if your members aren’t looking to buy a new car or cell phone? That’s where Shop America comes in. It gives members cash back on more than 1,500 retailers in its online mall. From Sears and Macy’s to Target and Best Buy, Shop America is assured to have something to offer all of your SEG members.

However, a great reward program means nothing to your SEGs if they don’t know about it. That’s why the Invest in America team offers free marketing materials for all of their partner discounts. You’ll also want to make sure your staff and SEGs are trained and up-to-date on all of your reward program benefits through emails, newsletters, websites and social media posts.

Gaining the Competitive Advantage for Your Credit Union - Part 3: The Ultimate Reward

 by Amy Neale

Below is Part 3 of a four-part series we've done on Gaining the Competitive Advantage for Your Credit Union.

Does your credit union’s member rewards program begin and end with points earned for using its credit card? Time to think bigger than the competition. From your grocery store and pharmacy to big box chains, everyone is offering their customers rewards far beyond points.

Instead of offering your members a contingency-based program – they have to spend to earn – why not offer them a program that rewards them just for being a member? A program like this could boost your member loyalty while enabling your credit union to tie its core products to the rewards.

A good example of this idea in action is CU Solutions Group’s member discount program Invest in America (IIA). In a 2012 survey, participating credit unions were most satisfied with these IIA benefits: the ability to offer member discounts (80%), earning additional non-interest-income (69%) and increasing value of membership (68%).

The program that IIA participating credit unions were most satisfied with? The Sprint Credit Union Member Discount, which has 1,806 participating credit unions and has saved members more than $244 million since it began. 

So, you can set your credit union apart by offering your members and business members discounts on their wireless service, all while earning incentives for your credit union – just for promoting the discount to your members. A win-win for everyone!

Adding Member Rewards to Your Credit Union’s Website

Credit unions are constantly looking for ways to improve their value proposition of membership to their members. Clearly, the high level of personal service that credit unions provide, combined with their low fees, takes center stage on the value of membership front. However, there are other opportunities to enhance the value of membership, including establishing a member rewards program as a dedicated and important element of your credit union with a unique Web page that gives your members easy access to discounts on products and services.

Members generally go to a credit union’s home page and tend to go straight to online banking; this can limit the ability for a credit union to cross-sell other products and services. By establishing a member rewards page, your credit union will not only reinforce the value of membership but will also drive members to your website where they can explore more of your site and take advantage of other core products and services. CU Solutions Group data shows that visitors to the LoveMyCreditUnion.org site average 3.2 page views per visit.

CU Solutions Group, through its Membership Enhancement Solutions division, has the perfect solution for your credit union’s membership rewards program development. For most of our readers it should be a familiar name: Invest in America (IIA). Invest in America provides discounts on goods and services from many U.S.-based partners and thousands of merchants in the auto, wireless service, membership rewards and tax services categories. These discounts are a click away for members of participating credit unions to access from your website to the Invest in America site. In fact, credit unions are encouraged to set up their member rewards page to capture all the tremendous IIA offers and Web functionality, but brand it as their own member rewards program. 

Data shows that IIA discounts enhance value of membership. Through the Credit Union Member Discount from GM, over 80 percent of members surveyed feel the discount strengthened the value of their credit union.¹ In addition, members liken the value of the Credit Union Member Discount from GM to a $1,000 fuel card. ² Given the significant impact that member rewards has on the value of credit union membership, now is the time for credit unions to develop their own member rewards section of their website.

¹ The Credit Union Member Discount from GM Satisfaction Survey Program to Date Trend Report, August 2011. 

²GM Retail Planning Credit Union Member Profile Study, January 2011.

Related products: IIA, the Credit Union Member Discount from GM, Website Design and Development

Member Rewards Programs Are a Credit Union Difference

A main priority of credit unions, one in which they excel, is helping their members save. Whether it’s saving through their competitive loan rates, fee-free debit cards or rewards programs, members know they can count on their credit unions to put them first. It’s credit union differences like these that foster member loyalty and increase member satisfaction.

CU Solutions Group, through its member rewards program Invest in America, strives to help credit unions drive member satisfaction and credit union value. First quarter 2011 research relating to the Credit Union Member Discount from GM indicates that 80 percent felt the discount was very important in their purchase decision. The same study indicated 77 percent of members felt that the GM discount strengthened the value of their credit union. In addition, offering the TurboTax discount resulted in 66 percent of surveyed members stating that they are likely to recommend their credit union, and 95 percent feel favorable towards their credit union for offering the discount. It’s no wonder that Invest in America has over 3,000 participating credit unions representing nearly 66 million members.

Overall member savings further drive member satisfaction and the value of being a credit union member. Program-to-date, the GM and Sprint discounts alone have saved members $300 million and $151 million, respectively. That’s over $450 million in savings from these two partners alone. Add to this the over $1 million saved with TurboTax for the 2010 tax season; the thousands saved in cash back from Shop America; or discounts from DIRECTV, FTD and other partners, and it’s easy to see how this type of membership rewards program can have value to your members.

As Invest in America continues to grow, with the addition of new partners such as Dell, so will the overall savings for your members. And as the savings grow for your members, so will their level of satisfaction and appreciation for the credit union difference.

Related Services:  Invest in America