The ONE THING To Do Right Now!

Anne Legg
Aug 6, 2021
3 min read

If there was only ONE THING, just ONE ACTION you could take right now at your credit union that would have significant impact AND not require additional resources, it is this…

LESSON MEMBER FRICTION!

Your members really have only four problems that they want your credit union to help them solve. They are:

1. Transportation problem.

The member needs transportation to accomplish basic needs. This should not be confused with an auto loan. The credit union should consider itself as the conduit to transportation.

2. Shelter problem.

The member needs a place to call home as a basic need. This should not be confused with a mortgage. The credit union is the conduit to shelter.

3. Travel and play problem.

The member desires either travel and/or play. They need a financial partner that will help them achieve these goals within their current financial condition.

4. Rainy day and retirement problem.

The member needs a financial partner that will help them set up short-term and long-term deposits.

Unfortunately, the member has quite a bit of friction getting these problems resolved. Member friction falls into three categories.

Product frictions are a lack of product knowledge by the user. Common product frictions at a Financial Institution are; not understanding how a skip-a-payment affects the loan terms and how a check hold works and affects available funds.

Process frictions are obstacles found most commonly in the purchase journey. An example is the loan purchase journey. The loan process starts when the member first identifies the need for the loan. This is often called discovery. Next, the member/customer will evaluate their options for the loan and then purchase. Once the loan has been opened, the next phase is access/use. This is followed by the final step of either recommend or repurchase.

This process holds many potential friction points. Common frictions are:

Members are not aware of the credit union option.
The application process is obstacle-filled, resulting in abandoned carts and excessive length.
Loan fulfillment takes too long.

People frictions

When nearly 600 credit union leaders were asked the following question:

Would you please describe the friction the member has doing business with the credit union?

The most popular answer was a surprising response. It was the word LACK — specifically, a lack of a data culture—the ability for credit union talent to have the capability to consume data and make iterative changes.

How to identify your credit union's member friction?

This is easy. Just ask!

Ask your leadership team, your business units, and your member contact staff. They will tell you.

NEXT

Prioritize these frictions by using the following criteria, 1) What friction will have the most significant impact on my member, AND 2) what friction can we work on right now without any additional resources.

FROM HERE

Create your plan, don't forget to set a friction reduction metric to measure the success of this effort.

To learn how THRIVE leverages friction to improve members' lives, please click here.

Curious about the current state of data at your

credit union?

Take this quick

Data Success Assessment to find out!

Found at the bottom of the page.

Where can I fill my data knowledge gaps?

With a stop at the

Data Education Center.

We believe that data transformation doesn't have to feel overwhelming or expensive to be impactful. After helping over 600 credit union leaders launch their data journeys, we have identified several consistent knowledge gaps. We have worked hard to fill these gaps with a variety of educational artifacts: