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Using Focus Groups for Member Insight
Member
focus has always been the mantra of credit
unions. But as credit unions grow in size and
sophistication often the voice of the member is less clearly
heard.
Focus
Groups have become an important methodology that board
members and executive teams can use for gaining insightful
analysis into the product, service and delivery needs.
This
articles examines the use of focus groups and describes how
Focus Groups were used by $500 million Farmers Insurance
Group FCU to enhance the member
experience.
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How do
your members really feel about your credit
union?
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How do
those perceptions relate to their usage of the products
and services you offer?
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Do the
elements of your strategic plan fit with members and
potential members perspective of your credit union?
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What are
the essential elements required to increase your
relationship with members?
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What
specific products and services will they, and potential
members, require in the future?
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What are
our strengths and where are we vulnerable to the
competition?
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What
about the manner in which we do business adds meaningful
value to our members?
If these
are some of the questions facing your credit union, then you
need to consider conducting focus groups with your members,
and possibly, even your potential members.
While most
leaders in the credit union industry are familiar with the
concept of focus groups the percentage of credit unions
using focus groups to gather feedback from their own members
and potential members is relatively small compared to the
usage of this process in other industries or among banks.
However, if
the time is taken to understand, through the in-depth
process of focus groups, your members and even potential
members viewpoints, we promise that their insights will
amaze you and send you along a strategic implementation of
tactics with confidence. And what’s more, they will thank
you for caring enough about them to talk to them! It’s a
major win-win process!
Reflection
Point Research (RPR), a full service market research firm
specializing in the credit union industry, recently
completed a series of member and potential member focus
groups for Farmers Insurance Group Federal Credit Union (FIGFCU)
based out of Los Angeles. Following a major strategic
planning initiative, FIGFCU leadership decided that one key
initiative uncovered from the planning effort was the need
to REALLY understand members and potential members
perception of FIGFCU.
Les Ginoza,
VP of Marketing at FIGFCU noted: “While there were many
vendors that offer a focus group solution, not all vendors
are the same. We asked each vendor in-depth questions such
as their methodology for reducing biased answers, the best
way to gather focus group information given the wide
geographic area of our branch network, focus group
recruitment and so on. Needless to say, we were impressed
with the level of expertise by RPR. We were also impressed
with the fact that RPR had expertise with focus groups
projects outside of the credit union industry. This was
important to us because a significant portion of our
findings were to be based on gathering non-member responses.
“
Working in
close association with the credit union’s project team, a
discussion outline was developed which allowed for in-depth
understanding to be accomplished in key areas to FIGFCU.
Through RPR’s network of focus group facilities throughout
the U.S., a series of groups were set up covering three
distinct geographic areas of importance. RPR recruited
qualified participants for each of the groups.
Each group
lasted just under two hours and were video and audio-taped
for future reference in report writing and recommendations
by RPR as well as usage in the FIGFCU project team. Members
of the FIGFCU team were able to inconspicuously watch the
groups while they took place. This allowed for an immediate
understanding of the attitudes and opinions of members and
potential members and the initial formation of strategic
initiatives given the new information and feedback. Within
a week following the final group, RPR presented the findings
and our interpretation of the findings to FIGFCU’s senior
management.
Unlike some
focus group market research companies, the strategic process
RPR uses does not leave the answering of those key questions
to chance. Using structured and proven focus group
processes, RPR was able to definitively answer the questions
facing FIGFCU at the start of the process and accomplish the
objectives necessary for FIGFCU to call this a success.
“One of
the most important factors that made this focus group
project a success was RPR’s ability to be flexible in the
field. During and after each focus group session, we were
able to adjust the line of questions and probe further into
specific areas of interest. The seamless integration of
last minute adjustments truly magnified the level of
expertise RPR provided during the entire course of the
project. This gave us the detailed perspective we needed to
help validate and fine tune our long term strategic
goals.” - Les Ginoza, VP of Marketing, FIGFCU
In
summary, regardless of whether you are at the beginning of
the strategic planning process or implementing specific
tactical directives, the use of focus groups offers an
enormous benefit by bringing the member’s perspective to the
process. When looking for answers using focus groups, we
are happy to work through all steps of the process with you
using our patented process, ensuring you get meaningful,
specific and actionable answers!
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