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How Coastal Credit Union Achieved "World - Class" Net Promoter Scores with Co-op Contact Center

The Opportunity

Research from Microsoft found that 96% of consumers believe good service is an important factor in their loyalty to a business. Bain & Co found that companies that excel at service grow annual revenues at 4-8% above the market. As a $3.3 billion credit union with 267,000 members, North Carolina as their Headquarter Coastal Credit Union believes superior member service is core to their brand. Coastal has leveraged CO-OP Financial Services as its full-time member services center for years, but saw an opportunity to partner with CO-OP to bring greater enhancements to their Contact Center operations.

In order to provide the kind of flexible, convenient support their members needed, Coastal had been investing in ways to blend cutting-edge technology with the personal touch of a live service agent. Back in 2009, they rolled out live video-based personal teller machines to create teller transaction efficiency at their branches while maintaining face-to-face interactions. Coastal initially saw the benefits of outsourcing member support using CO-OP Contact Center but wanted to ensure they could guarantee the same high level of service and efficiency their members expected. “The key to outsourcing is making sure you’ve got a partner that operates in the same manner that you do, to the same level of expertise, and with the same level of member satisfaction,” said David Faleski, Senior VP/CIO, Coastal Credit Union. In order to make this happen, Coastal wanted to ensure that CO-OP and Coastal agents and technology were closely integrated, so that members received a consistent experience across every channel.

The Challenge

As a result of partnering with Co-op to add enhancements to their Contact Center support in 2019, Coastal Credit Union saw significant improvement in their average net promoter score (NPS), which is often used to measure and improve member loyalty. According to a 2018 CustomerGauge report, the average NPS score for the financial services industry is 46 and anything rated above 70 is considered “world class.” By the end of the 1st quarter of 2019, Coastal achieved an NPS score of 62 and by April 2019, that NPS score reached an all-time high of 80.74. Coastal and Co-op collaborated on several solutions to improve the member support strategy with this concept in mind: Agent & Culture Training Beyond simply offering the knowledge and skills necessary to provide good member service, Coastal wanted to ensure Co-op Contact Center agents understood and became an integral part of the culture at their credit union. Co-op agents, management and support teams all participated in varied training programs that included offsite meetings, empathy exercises, and workshops. Call Monitoring & Optimizations Co-op and Coastal closely monitored and measured the quality of agents’ service interactions in order to find ways to incrementally improve performance. This included empowering agents to be able to handle inquiries that previously would have required a transfer back to the credit union, as well as asking for their direct input on ways to improve Contact Center operations. Communicating Business Updates in Advance Service disruptions or other substantive business updates tend to drive higher call volumes or result in more transfers if agents aren’t prepared. Coastal worked with their internal teams to ensure Contact Center agents were informed well in advance of important business updates and also that FAQs were made available to members on their website. This significantly reduced high call volume. Reducing Call Transfers & Backlogs After a deep analysis of the volume and types of calls being routed to the Contact Center, Co-op was able to recommend enhancements to the call transfer process in order to resolve members’ issues faster. Giving Agents a Voice Agents were given a platform to share recommendations and ideas for improvements at the Contact Center through a monthly newsletter and other forums.

The Solution

As a result of partnering with CO-OP to bring enhancements to their Contact Center operations, Coastal Credit Union saw significant improvement in their average net promoter score (NPS), which is often used to measure and improve member loyalty. According to a 2018 CustomerGauge report, the average NPS score for the financial services industry is 46 and anything rated above 70 is considered “world class.” By the end of the 1st quarter of 2019, Coastal achieved an NPS score of 62 and by April 2019, that NPS score reached an all-time high of 80.74.

Key Takeaways

Co-op Contact Center Answers the Need for Superior Service and Efficiency

"Co-op's Contact Centers have tremendously high net promoter scores and match the service delivery that we offer through our other channels. That's the expectation that we have...We need partners that are accountable to our mission and our vision and our plan and Co-op does that through their Contact Center."

Co-op’s Contact Center serves over 400 credit unions nationwide, providing 24/7, always-on service that is scalable, compliant, flexible, secure – and personalized. And because it’s Co-op Financial Services, you can feel confident that the service your members receive is always consistent with your credit union’s brand promise. What Co-op’s Contact Center Offers:

MEMBER SERVICES: Access for your members anytime, anywhere – without additional staff. CO-OP Contact Center works 24/7 to be your primary service center, including providing overflow and after-hours transaction services your members need, with different levels of support to fit your credit union’s needs.

CARD SERVICES: Dispute resolution, transaction details, travel notifications, account activity, and more. CO-OP’s Card Services also offers self-service interactive voice response (IVR) solutions that deliver the speed and convenience that members value and allows them to choose the method or channel that works best for them.

LENDING SERVICES: Give members better, faster service for the loan products they need to realize their dreams. CO-OP’s origination, underwriting, indirect support and lending services are fully flexible and built on an advanced platform.

Member Services

Card Services

Lending Services

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80.74

Average NPS Score Across Financial Services Industry

Coastal Contact Center NPS score in April 2019

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David Faleski Senior VP/CTO, Coastal Credit Union

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