Bringing Member Referrals Into the 21st Century

Executive Summary

Credit unions want growth but struggle with the cumbersome referral and tracking methods that have historically been available. Paper referral programs create inefficiencies within the credit union and hassles for the member. And rarely do they lead to strong results.

In 2014, a Filene i³ team built a rapid prototype that modernizes the member referral process. The team received strong interest from surveyed credit unions about a concept that would help track member referrals. In 2015, Filene selected this concept to be tested further in the i⁴ incubator.

What is the research about?

This Innovation Brief highlights our key findings from the Member Megaphone i⁴ Incubator test including:

• An overall referral rate of 34%
• Strong interest from members indicated by an 81% confirmation rate
• One credit union identified a single current member who was directly responsible for referring 22 new members and indirectly associated with 161 new members

Stay tuned for a 12-month update about these accounts and the future of Member Megaphone.

What are the credit union implications?

A referral app such as Member Megaphone can help seamlessly facilitate growth through member and employee referrals. Through the use of such apps, credit unions could see an increase in member growth with new members participating in credit union products and services. 

Filene thanks CSCU for their generous support of the Filene i3 innovation program and D+H for their generous support of the i4 Incubator. Filene would also like to thanks Member Loyalty Group for their partnership and collaboration with Member Megaphone.