Using Analytics to Meet Member Needs: A Case Study of Kern Schools FCU

This report presents a case study of a credit union that used market research methodologies to inform its strategy, grow its membership, and inform its decisions moving forward.

Megan Brown

Lead Decision Scientist at Starbucks

Michael George

Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing, Innovation, and Advocacy Officer

Kern Schools Federal Credit Union

Barry Callen

Namedrop Marketing Communications

Report Number 471

From the Center for

Performance and Operational Excellence

Executive Summary

What role can market research play in promoting credit union growth and sustainability? This case study explores three phases of market research through which a county- chartered credit union in California turned around its business. The first phase describes how Kern Schools Federal Credit Union (KSFCU) used market research to pull back from the edge of financial disaster in 2012 and become a financially sound enterprise with satisfied members. Next, the report discusses how KSFCU drove growth in 2018 by using market research to align its business model with its member base through transitions to millennial and Latino/a members and mobile banking. Finally, it describes how it will use market research and analytics to continue its financial growth in the face of the major technological, demographic, and competitive changes faced by most credit unions.

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In addition to the research report, download our market research how-to guide to walk you through effective focus group observations, understanding the hierarchy of effects, and analyzing metadata.