By Frank J. Diekmann
Are consumers changing their opinion of digital services as they increasingly use the channels? It’s a paradox to consider as 2023 approaches, as it appears raising the bar for consumers in the never-ending quest to improve service only serves to lower the bar for consumer/member dissatisfaction.
Case in point—new studies by J.D. Power that suggest that most consumers are becoming dissatisfied with their credit card mobile apps and online options.
Overall satisfaction with most digital channels has declined as usage has increased, the studies report.
“We’re seeing a lot of volatility in customer satisfaction scores … driven by a combination of heightened customer expectations for what a digital experience should look like,” said Jennifer White with J.D. Power. “The tough economic climate has amped up the urgency of those expectations.”
While satisfaction increased slightly (up five points on a 1,000-point scale) for national bank websites, satisfaction fell among national bank mobile apps, credit card mobile apps, credit card websites, and regional bank mobile apps and websites.
A Key Takeaway
One key takeaway you might want to consider as you map your own strategies: Digital spending analysis and budgeting tools are associated with a significant increase in consumer satisfaction across all segments.
And if you want to go do a little e-reconnaissance work, Capital One ranked highest in the J. D. Power rankings in banking mobile app satisfaction among national banks, followed by Chase and Wells Fargo. Capital One was first in online banking satisfaction among national banks, followed by Chase and Bank of America. Discover ranked highest in credit card mobile app satisfaction, followed by Capital One and Bank of America.
Um, Maybe That’s Not a Deal She’s Running Toward
Spoiler Alert for Any White Lotus II fans who haven’t finished watching the series--read no further! But if you have already finished the series or don’t plan to take in the antics of how the very over-served can be generally over-miserable (even in the most beautiful of settings), there is a credit union that has been promoting its certificates with a tweet embedded with a meme from the show’s final episode. Whomever selected it clearly either a) hasn’t watched the show or b) watched the program and let’s just say missed something.
The credit union’s tweet says “When I found out about (product name at credit union)” accompanied by a meme of the character Tanya McQuoid-Hunt played by Jennifer Coolidge on a yacht as if she’s running for her life. Which she is, as there is a murder plot underway. Maybe not the message your credit union wants to promote when it comes to your savings products.
One CEO Does It All
CUToday.info’s The Gig is an always evolving and robust list of job openings in credit unions. The positions are almost always placed by HR execs and occasionally CEOs seeking to bolster their management teams.
But in a first, we’ve had a CEO place a job opening for—his own job. David C. Sawin, the retiring of Minnesota Catholic Credit Union, is seeking a candidate to succeed him. The credit union is in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities.
I suppose Mr. Sawin also conducts the interviews, which must make for some interesting responses from candidates to the question, “So, how would you improve the management practices here?”
You can find that post and many others here.
The Upside Down Lot
Whether you are looking to buy a car or are just making auto loans, you know all too well the Owner’s Manual has been in another language for a few years now.
Consider this observation shared by Tony Boutelle, president of Origence and CU Direct.
“I talked to a dealer in New York and he said, ‘I look at my lots and I don’t see any cars and I get really depressed. I look at my financials and I get really happy.’ He is making so much on the cars he is selling.”
Michigan’s Credit Unions Get ‘Bold’
If you haven’t seen it, The Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) has launched what it is calling its “boldest and first fully digital” statewide awareness campaign to date. Themed “Credit unions. For real. For your future,” the campaign is focused on the older Gen Z and younger Millennial population (18-39 years old).
Each asset in the new campaign directs consumers back to a new website, TryACreditUnion.com, which the league described as featuring “bold and bright graphics” that will help consumers find a local credit union, ATM or branch “and even a credit union career.”
Also included are billboards across the state and a digital and social media campaign.
The first two video spots, promoting membership and mortgages have been released and will be followed by three additional spots promoting auto loans, careers and ATMs.
The spots can be viewed here:
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info. Mr. Diekmann is also author of several new book, including the brand new “The Last Lyric,” a humorous satire about a murder investigation at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in which every line of dialogue is either a classic pop/rock song title or lyric. Available on Amazon, Apple iBook, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Mr. Diekmann is also author of a non-fiction compilation of the very best & worst he has seen and heard in covering more than 500 CU meetings and conferences, “501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can Be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.” It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Lulu, and Smashwords