Non-member community surveys for banks and credit unions are able to reach an entirely new audience and network of people. Just like there are major advantages of conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys with customers of your bank, the same can be said of collecting feedback from those who are currently banking elsewhere.
The three main benefits of surveying non-members and what our bank and credit union market research company will talk about it greater detail in this blog post are:
- Customized marketing messages
- Define community awareness
- Gain inside knowledge of competitor offerings
Together, these three benefits of conducting non-member community research will increase the rate in which your financial institution is acquiring new members.
As a bonus, this blog post will also discuss how to obtain participants of the general public to complete a non-member community survey.
Reach a new audience and network of people with a non-member community survey for banks and credit unions and how using an independent third-party can help you find them.
Customized Marketing Messages
What came first? The marketing campaign or the research? If you want an impactful advertising message that will increase leads and members for your bank or credit union, the answer is research first! Often time organizations craft a marketing campaign with no actual proof that it will lead to new business or offer a return on their investment.
By conducting a non-member community survey before creating a marketing campaign, credit unions are able to create customized messages that will leave a lasting impression on potential customers.
First it’s important to define who your target member is – whether that be recent newlyweds looking to buy their first home, or parents looking to start a college fund for their children, or just the general population who lives within a certain mile radius of your branch. By determining who your exact audience is, you are able to find the right participants to offer feedback for your non-member community survey.
The feedback from this research provides unique insight into what channels this audience can best be reached (television, radio, social media, etc.), what are the most important factors when they are choosing a bank or credit union (location, rates, online banking), what they are most satisfied and what they are least satisfied with at their current bank, and much more.
With this information, your institution is able to craft the best, customized message that is most appealing to your target audience and encourage these non-customers to consider your bank for all their financial needs.
Define Community Awareness and Perception
It can be hard for banks and credit unions, or any type of business for that matter, to have a clear understanding of how their organization is perceived by the community. Say the tagline of your financial institution harps on the reliability of your staff.
However, every time a potential member tries calling your credit union, the phone rings several times or is constantly put on hold before they are able to talk to a representative. In short, just because internally your bank or credit union sees itself as reliable, the community might not necessarily share this same outlook.
It's not just a negative perception that can be measured in a non-customer banking survey, but also how aware or unaware the community is of your financial institution. If a majority of the community doesn’t even know your bank or credit union exists, how can you gain their business?
By surveying non-members, your institution is able to measure the community’s level of awareness, word or phrase association, and the positive or negative perception of your credit union. This insight will better provide your organization with what changes need to be made to have your reputation and image be in the best light possible.
Gain Inside Knowledge of Competitor Offerings
Doesn’t that sound appealing? Every business wishes they could understand what it’s like to be a customer of their competitors.
Why is it that their members chose the credit union right down the street as opposed to your own? A non-member community survey can help answer that burning question. By recruiting participants who are currently banking at a competing branch, you will gain the inside track of their offerings.
Whether it be a phone survey or an online survey, a non-member community survey can ask questions such as:
- What are you most satisfied with, with your current banking provider? What are you least satisfied with?
- What made you choose your current banking provider?
- If you were to leave your current banking provider for another institution, what would impact your choice?
The answers to these questions and more can help provide a greater understanding as to why your bank or credit union was not the institution of choice, and how you can grow to become that choice.
Bonus: How Do I Obtain Non-Member Community Survey Participants?
It is easier to survey those who are current members, than the general public. As a bank or credit union, your financial institution already has access to a database of email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, and other information in order to easily contact your list of members.
Also, when sending a member feedback survey to current members, they are more likely to open an email, answer a phone call, or open a piece of mail because they are already familiar and comfortable with your brand. This in turn increases the chances of a member completing a questionnaire in order to collect the necessary feedback to drive business and marketing strategies forward.
On the other side of the spectrum, non-member community surveys for a financial institution are not as easy of a process to gain a high-volume of responses from the general public or those who match the demographics of your target audience. Our market research company specializing in banks and credit unions, has access to an in-house panel of hundreds of people across the country ready to participate in a variety of market research studies, such as a non-member survey.
Drive Research also follows a robust strategy of using paid social media advertisements to acquire the exact audience your bank or credit union is looking to speak to. With the use of social media and our online panel, our banking market research firm is able to capture a sample size of 200-400 survey responses – and in some cases, even more!
Contact Drive Research
Drive Research works with financial institutions including banks and credit unions across the Northeast and across the United States. We assist with both member surveys and non-member surveys.
Interested in receiving a quote or proposal for a non-member survey?
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Text us at 315-303-2040