Making online forms as easy as possible

I’m in the process of writing an article for CUES’ CU Management magazine, about KickStart Online Lending Generator and Holy Rosary CU’s results. Editor Lisa Hochgraf had some excellent questions for me which prompted me to do a little bit more research into the universal conclusion that removing barriers and streamlining online forms from the user’s perspective leads to better results and increased sales.

So I thought I would share with you some of the eye-popping research that I discovered (and thus why Carol and Holy Rosary CU are getting wonderful results with KickStart – i.e. 10.49% growth in their loan portfolio over the past 6 months):

• Google’s Marissa Mayer: Speed Wins

• The $300 Million Button

• How Amazon’s website usability affects consumer product choice (This is a lengthy research paper)

In addition to the above research on the importance of streamlining the user/member/customer experience to improve sales, we’ve done some streamlining of our own. One item that proved to ourselves that we get better results when we make things easier online is that when we took the step of pre-filling out our own Online Switch Kit demo for you, dozens and dozens of you tried it out, compared to nearly no one trying it out when it was not pre-filled. It seems simple, but often times the little things can make a BIG difference!

So in our continuing quest to make our own forms and demos even easier to try out, we’ve now also pre-filled out the already-simple KickStart Loan Request form to make it even easier for you to test that for yourself. Kick the tires on KickStart yourself right here: KickStart test site

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this – did you find you got better results when your streamlined your online processes, forms, applications, and navigation? Was there ever a time when making things easier for your members online was a bad thing?

KickStart in action

Carole Wight, CEO of Holy Rosary CU in Kansas City, Missouri, recently shared with us an email exchange she had in regards to an inquiry into her use of EverythingCU.com’s KickStart online loan application:

Question: Once they fill out the on-line app, what is the process/member experience from there? 

Carole: Usually we are able to match the account number with the online application. We pull some quick loan data and promptly call the member back. Usually we have the information we need to move the loan to closing when we call so we are WAY AHEAD on the process.

Question: How has the process/member experience changed from before the on-line app? 

Carole: Before online application, they either didn’t call us because they were at work by the time we were open, or the process dragged on. They would call us initially and we would have to pull their credit and get back to them. All this took time and many times the loan was lost. Either because they never called or we didn’t have the jump we needed to catch the loan.

Question: How has it helped the staff in getting or processing a loan? What % of your loans go thru the on-line app comparative to the traditional process? 

Carole: That is a very interesting question. I don’t have a fancy system that captures numbers for me like this. I wish I did and I am getting ready to go there but I am searching for solutions. I would say 10%-20% of our applications come from KickStart. That is just a guess. NOW, if you ask me which of the most have the most successful close rate, I would say that KickStart helps us get closes. My staff like it because they have tons of information when they start to talk to the member. We have more loans because of KickStart.

If you have any questions in regards to KickStart, please feel free to email me at any time!

10.49% loan growth for our KickStart client

While the NCUA has not yet released the 4th Quarter 2012 5300-data for all CUs, it is available for many CUs on an individual basis.

We can’t help but be beaming proud of Carole Wight and Holy Rosary CU…. and the terrific results she’s getting with her EverythingCU.com KickStart.

I just checked the 4Q12 5300 report for Holy Rosary, and it’s even better than we thought it’d be! We were hoping they would maintain a 3.9% lending growth rate, and THEY WOUND UP BEATING IT! Lending is up EVEN MORE than the previous quarter! Loans are up by 6.3% in just the past quarter!

The last two quarters combined have seen Holy Rosary’s lending go up by 10.49%! If her loan portfolio continues to grow at that pace, her CU will have seen a TWENTY PERCENT increase in loans for the year! Wow! Never in our wildest imaginations did we think KickStart could have such an immediate impact on a CU’s loan portfolio, but the proof is in the NCUA 5300 numbers.

Here is the latest:
Dec 31, 2010: 4,758,649
Mar 31, 2011: 4,647,966
Jun 30, 2011: 4,623,701
Sep 30, 2011: 4,719,143
Dec 31, 2011: 4,918,250
Mar 31, 2012: 7,623,506 <– Merger with a smaller CU
Jun 30, 2012: 7,607,091
Sep 30, 2012: 7,906,605 <– 1st full qtr w/KickStart
Dec 31, 2012: 8,405,157 <– 2nd full qtr w/KickStart

If you are ready to give KickStart Online Lending a try, then check out the SPECIAL OFFER we are running, or learn more on the KickStart information page.

A special offer to Kickstart your loans

We here at EverythingCU.com are constantly looking for ways to help credit unions and their members, and we are so proud of our KickStart Online Lending Program and the results that Carole Wight at Holy Rosary CU are getting with it, that we’ve decided to make it even more easy to try it out at your CU. We are so thrilled that day after day, Carole is regularly getting quality loan apps brought right to her team’s email inbox, and we’re amazed that KickStart is largely responsible for the 10.49% increase in their loans over the last two quarters.

Matt came up with a promotion idea that we’ve decided to implement, and it goes like this:
Starting March 1, 2013, and running through March 1, 2014, EverythingCU.com is offering a FREE SIX MONTHS of KickStart for everyone who renews their EverythingCU.com Executive Membership OR for anyone who purchases a new Executive Membership.

Why are we doing this? Because we are seeing Holy Rosary CU get incredible results with the product, and we want every CU to know that this product is a can’t-lose proposition. While we can’t guarantee your loan portfolio will also grow by 10.49% over two quarters like Carol’s has, we think it’s worth a try. Once you develop results with KickStart, we think you’ll be as thrilled to continue it as Carole and Holy Rosary are.

If you’ve been considering getting into online lending, now is the time. If you’re unhappy with how cumbersome your current online lending process is, and think your results could be better with a more member-centric process, then give it a try during this limited-time free period.

As with many promo offers, we have a few disclaimers:

• Promo runs from 3/1/2013 to 3/1/2014.
• You must contact us that you want to have KickStart implemented for your CU after you order or renew Executive Membership; enrollment in KickStart is not automatic.
• After six months; unless you choose to discontinue KickStart, it will renew on an annual basis at the regular price.
• Custom programming for further functionality is not included with this offer, however we will match your web site’s look and feel.
• EverythingCU.com reserves the right to post your NCUA 5300-report lending portfolio increase and use it as testimonial for the effectiveness of KickStart.

If you’ve been thinking of getting into online lending, this is your chance. To take advantage of this offer, simply order or renew your EverythingCU.com Executive Membership, and then send an email to Matt that you would like to get started with KickStart at no cost for 6 months.

If you’re not looking to implement or improve your online lending right now, but do know of a CU that doesn’t have online lending yet, we’d be grateful if you directed them to this article so they can climb on the KickStart train!

Announcing the EverythingCU.com Loan Report

Exciting news…. we are proud to launch a brand new product here at EverythingCU.com. Building on the long-running success of our Marketing Budget Report, we’ve now built a super-dandy Loan Report.

This Loan Report has all of the same great peer group comparisons as the Marketing Budget Report (virtually any number of peers from 10 to 5000, compare by Assets, Number of Members, or Total Loans), and compare by State, Region, or the USA.

But this new Loan Report has FAR more comparison data because the NCUA 5300 has much greater detail about loans.

This nifty new Loan Report lets you view these loan breakouts:

• Total Loans
• Mortgages
• Other R.E.
• New Auto
• Used Auto
• Credit Cards
• Unsecured
• Business Loans
• All Other Loans

And in addition, for each of these loan breakouts, we offer a full variety of View Modes:

• Rate
• Average Size
• Percent of Total
• Loans per Member
• Growth Rate
• Charge-offs
• Total Expense
• Net Worth ratios
…. and several more

But don’t take my word for it, try out the demo! In demo mode, you will be able to view only the Total Loan category in the “Current” View Mode. But all of the data is there if you would like to purchase it.

We think this report will be especially valuable for CEOs and VPs of Lending, but it is also great for CFOs, VPs of Marketing who are concerned with the CU loan portfolio, anyone on the ALM or Supervisory commitees, board members, and branch managers. So be sure to tell everyone at your CU who would benefit!

As with all of our products, purchase of the Loan Report makes it available to ALL registered employees at your CU. If they are not already registered, you can Invite Them Here.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Especially valuable for small credit unions

Matt and I recently had the pleasure of attending a small credit union conference in Zoar, Ohio, called Making History 2012. It was hosted by CDFI grant writing specialists, CU Strategic Planning led by Jamie Chase and Chuck Cockburn.

One of the reasons we were especially excited to attend was to meet in person one of our favorite clients, Carole Wight, President of Holy Rosary Credit Union in Kansas City, Missouri. Carole was a delight, and the work that she does at her credit union is impressive. Carole also uses KickStart, our online loan generator, and she loves the product. So much so that she wrote the following email to the Director of the Office of Small Credit Unions in Missouri:

Kevin:

I had to write you about EverythingCU.com. I use this site constantly.  You can download sample documents, get advice, purchase an online switch kit, watch inexpensive marketing webinars and have an online loan application system.

I soon will use all of their products. My outreach efforts are stronger as a small credit union because of this site.  Go to my homepage and look at my online loan application. The beauty is that it is designed so that there is no non-public personal information exchanged with social and account number.  It is just simple, but it works. I paid under $500 for the year for this site.  My loan volume has increased as a result.

Small credit unions need a tool like this. In my humble opinion, if they don’t see the value, we need to help them see the value. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have or meet with you. This is probably my number 1 tool for marketing information.

Thanks, Kevin.  Please feel free to have any interested credit union contact me also.

Carole Wight, President
Holy Rosary Credit Union
Kansas City, MO  64106

We are quite honored to call Carole a friend, as well as a client.