Member Relationship Strategy Pays Off for Arrowhead Credit Union

San Bernardino, CA —It’s a common challenge with most credit unions; how to create member loyalty. At Arrowhead Credit Union this challenge has led to the development of a comprehensive member relationship strategy with a two-pronged approach.

The first element, the 22261 Member Relationship Management program is focused on personal contact with newly established members. The 22261 strategy insures that every new member at Arrowhead Credit Union is personally contacted two days after the relationship starts, then at two weeks, two months, six months and on their one year anniversary.

“The personal contact is an opportunity for the Arrowhead Credit Union representative to reach out and help that new member feel that their relationship is valued and appreciated as well as differentiating their experience from other financial institutions. This creates an environment where the financial services representative can become a trusted personal advisor,” says Robert Reed, Senior Vice President, Sales and Service.

Since implementing the 22261 strategy this summer, Arrowhead Credit Union has seen an increase in member service scores across their entire branch network. In January 2007, the service score, which measure the member’s experience at the branch on a 5 point scale, was 4.68. In October, the average score has increased to 4.76. Reed adds, “This strategy is a long-term vision with payoffs coming through the process of earning the member’s loyalty with every contact point. It is especially gratifying to see tangible results in these service scores.”

The second part of the retention strategy is aimed at existing members who want to close their accounts and includes the creation of Retention Specialists at each branch location.  All requests to close accounts at a branch are now being reviewed by a second person to see if there is an opportunity to save the relationship. The Retention Specialists are trained to determine the underlying causes to account closure requests, to provide solutions and give alternate options. It is also one more opportunity to have a positive member experience and demonstrate the level of care Arrowhead seeks to provide for each member.

Success stories are shared at weekly conference calls with all branch managers. One example: a member, upset with an ATM transaction fee, wanted to close their account at a branch and spoke with a relatively new employee. The teller, who prior to the implementation of the strategy may have simply complied with the request, now contacted a Retention Specialist who was able to provide a solution and save the account.  The member even commented that based on the way his request had been handled he felt that his account really mattered to Arrowhead.

According to Reed, “We can drive up member loyalty and increase member satisfaction by reinforcing the belief that every employee can take ownership of the member experience, one member at a time.”