Credit Unions vs. Banks: Dueling Headlines Part I

We at CultureSpan Marketing have represented banks and credit unions, so this series is not about choosing sides in this duel; it’s about how using research data and great headlines can be used to sway public perception through traditional and social media. Read the entries and then make the call. Which side was more effective at swaying your opinion?

“Credit Unions Set All-Time Record for Customer Satisfaction”

In December 2011, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released its annual report of customer satisfaction ratings of over 255 companies in 47 industries, ten economic sectors, and over 200 services, programs and websites of approximately 130 federal government agencies. Data was compiled from approximately 70,000 customer interviews and all satisfaction measures were reported using a scale of 0 – 100.

According to the report, which did not provide specific information on survey methodology or interview questions, credit unions set an all-time record for customer satisfaction, soaring 8.7% over the previous year to a score of 87, the highest score ever reached by any of the ASCI’s industry categories. During that one-year period, credit unions tripled their Index lead over banks.

Small banks, which make up a large portion of the banking industry’s market share, slid 1% from the previous year but with a rating of 79, stayed well ahead of the four largest banks. Wells Fargo and Citigroup tied for first place in the category with a rating of 73, while JP Morgan Chase improved 4% over the prior year with a score of 70, moving past Bank of America at 68. According to ASCI’s public release of the report, for any of the large banks, “the gap between their own ASCI score and the scores of either small banks (79) or credit unions (87) is daunting.”

Check back for our next post and see how banks come back with some impressive stats of their own to combat the perception that credit unions are better at customer service.