This article
was excerpted from Section 5 of Callahan's 2002 Credit Union Internet
Strategies Research Report.
Credit unions
are starting to use the Internet to both learn from and to educate
their members. The Callahan Survey focused on two technologies--online
member surveys and online seminars.
Online surveying
is an ideal method for collecting actionable data from credit union
members in a fast, cost-effective way. Unlike the annual paper-based
membership surveys that can take three to six months from conception
to results, credit unions online can gather enough responses for
analysis in a few days or even hours. Credit unions are using the
Internet to test what their members want before they launch new
initiatives or marketing messages.
The Callahan
Internet Strategies questionnaire measured the level of online surveying
occurring now among credit unions. Of survey respondents, 31 percent
(73 credit unions) are already surveying their members online an
average of two times per year. Ninety-three credit unions have plans
to survey their membership online within the year. Together, these
two groups suggest that almost 70 percent of credit unions will
be utilizing this method of tracking member needs within a year.
Larger credit
unions have taken the lead in adopting this technology with over
60 percent of credit unions over $500 million already surveying
their members online. However, as Graph 42 illustrates, within a
year the smaller credit unions will be catching up. Almost half
of each asset-based peer group will be conducting online surveys
within one year with 95 percent of the largest credit unions doing
so.
Another Internet
technology credit unions are slowly adopting is online education.
Currently, only a tiny fraction of survey respondents, less than
4 percent, offer some type of online seminars. However, within the
year, this number will grow five fold with 46 credit unions indicating
their intention to begin online seminars.