Member Satisfaction Isn’t Loyalty and That’s the Problem

For years, credit unions have asked members a familiar question:

“How satisfied are you?”

The problem is not that satisfaction data is useless. The problem is that satisfaction is not loyalty. And when credit unions confuse the two, they make decisions based on comfort instead of commitment.

In a recent conversation, Robb Cribb and Denise Wymore unpacked why this distinction matters now more than ever, especially for small credit unions navigating consolidation, competition, and rising member expectations.

The takeaway is simple, but uncomfortable.

Most credit unions are measuring the wrong thing.

Satisfaction Feels Good. Loyalty Tells the Truth.

Satisfaction surveys often produce reassuring results. Members are polite. They check the box. Scores look fine.

But satisfied members still leave.

They refinance elsewhere.
They open accounts at digital banks.
They stop engaging, quietly and without complaint.

As Denise put it plainly:

“Satisfaction is the wrong question.”

Satisfaction asks whether a transaction met expectations. Loyalty asks whether a relationship is strong enough to endure choice, friction, and temptation.

That difference changes everything.

Why Net Promoter Score (NPS) Matters for Credit Unions

Net Promoter Score is not just a metric. It is a lens.

Instead of asking whether a member is happy in the moment, NPS asks a harder question:

Would you recommend this credit union to someone you care about?

That single shift reveals intent, emotion, and trust.

For small credit unions especially, this matters because growth does not come from scale. It comes from advocacy. Promoters refer. Promoters stay. Promoters deepen relationships.

And promoters are measurable.

NPS helps credit unions identify:

• Members who are actively loyal

• Members who are quietly at risk

• Members whose feedback points directly to operational fixes

As Denise noted, data itself is not the goal. Insight is.

“Data is really important to them.”

But only if you ask the right questions.

Satisfaction Does Not Equal Strategy

One of the most important moments in the conversation was a reminder that resonates far beyond surveys:

“Antidotes are not strategies.”

Anecdotes feel convincing. One loud complaint. One emotional story. One internal assumption about what members want.

Strategy requires patterns.

Transactional surveys and real-time feedback give credit unions something far more valuable than stories. They provide signals. Signals that show where experience breaks down, where trust erodes, and where small changes can have outsized impact.

Without that data, leadership teams are left guessing. With it, they can prioritize with confidence.

The Voice of the Member Is a Cooperative Advantage

Credit unions were built on cooperative principles. Listening should be a natural strength.

But listening does not happen by accident.

It happens when credit unions:

• Ask consistent, meaningful questions

• Act on feedback instead of filing it away

• Close the loop so members know they were heard

NPS is not about chasing a score. It is about operationalizing empathy.

When members see their feedback turn into action, loyalty deepens. Trust compounds. Relationships strengthen.

That is not just good member experience. That is good business.

Loyalty Is the Growth Strategy Small Credit Unions Can Control

Small credit unions do not win by outspending national banks. They win by out-caring them.

Member loyalty is not soft. It is measurable, actionable, and directly tied to profitability and retention.

The credit unions that thrive over the next decade will not be the ones with the highest satisfaction scores. They will be the ones who truly understand their members, listen consistently, and adapt intentionally.

Because in a market full of options, loyalty is earned.

And it starts by asking better questions.