The Disciplines of a Growth-Optimized Credit Union: Sustaining Relevance, Engagement and Efficiency

Credit unions are different. We see our members as people, not profit centers. It’s a noble distinction, and one that sets us apart from other financial institutions. This altruistic truth, though, doesn’t remove the responsibility to ensure that, while we deliver on the credit union promise of “people helping people,” we are also optimizing opportunities to grow and operate efficiently.

The reality is that growth optimization and operational efficiency are no longer competing priorities. With the right approach, they strengthen each other, and modern data analytics can make that synergy possible.

In a growth-optimized credit union, certain disciplines are always in motion. They’re not “steps” to be checked off, but ongoing practices that ensure the organization thrives in a changing marketplace.

Sustaining Product and Service Relevance

Relevance isn’t something achieved once and kept forever. It must be continually earned. Consumer expectations evolve, competitors innovate and new technologies reshape how people manage their financial lives.

Credit unions committed to growth and efficiency must maintain a constant focus on the appeal of their offerings. This means:

• Gathering regular input from members and prospects
• Using surveys, focus groups and digital feedback tools to identify emerging needs
• Assessing whether products and services solve the problems members face today, not just the ones they had in the past

This continuous feedback loop ensures you’re not making decisions in a vacuum, but in direct response to the people you serve. When your messaging cuts through the noise our members face in today’s world, and they look your way, it means you have done the hard work to ensure they will find what they want and need.

Deeply Understanding Member Engagement

Engagement is not static. Even your most loyal members evolve. Their financial goals, habits and preferred channels change over time. A credit union that wants to optimize growth must keep a constant watch on the behaviors and interactions that drive engagement.

Credit unions committed to growth and efficiency need to:

• Identify the most engaged members and understand their product journeys
• Detect shifts in engagement early enough to adapt and reduce churn
• Pinpoint the interactions and offerings that have the biggest impact on loyalty

By gaining these insights, you keep your strategies responsive and ensure that your most engaged members remain that way while encouraging others to follow a similar path.

Personalizing Outreach for Maximum Impact

Personalization isn’t a one-time campaign. It’s a continuous conversation between the credit union and its members. It resonates with your members because they come to trust that their credit union understands their unique financial needs.

Gone are the days when “spray and pray” marketing could deliver results. Today, your members expect personalized service and product recommendations. These recommendations go beyond segmenting audiences by demographics – they incorporate real-time behavioral, life stage and product usage data.

Credit unions committed to growth and efficiency must deliver messaging that:

• Resonates with members’ current priorities
• Arrives at the right time, through the right channel
• Feels like it was written for them, because it was

The payoff is two-fold: more effective use of marketing dollars and stronger, trust-based relationships with members.

Equipping Teams with Intelligent Tools

The best insights are only valuable if your team can act on them quickly and efficiently. That’s where technology, including artificial intelligence, plays a transformative role.

AI-powered analytics platforms, such as Vertice AI, enable credit unions to achieve growth and efficiency by:

• Turning vast amounts of member data into actionable insights related to product and service adoption, identifying relevant trends.
• Providing insights into member engagement, segmenting members and prospects by likelihood to adopt products and engage more deeply.
• Identifying and automating personalized outreach strategies that deliver the right message to members, at the right time.

These tools don’t replace the human element, they amplify it. By making data digestible and personalized execution more efficient, they free your people to focus on what they do best: building high-trust member relationships.

Staying True to Credit Union Heritage

Some worry that utilizing technology to facilitate successful member relationships risks making credit unions feel less personal. In truth, it can do the opposite if applied well.

The credit union movement was built on knowing members as people. In the past, that was achieved exclusively through face-to-face interactions. Today, we’re charged with replicating that personal connection at scale, across multiple channels and with members we may never meet in person.

Data analytics and AI make that possible, enabling us to tailor interactions so members still feel seen, known and valued. Far from replacing our heritage, these tools help preserve it in a digital-first world.

An Ongoing Commitment

In a growth-optimized credit union, these disciplines are never perfected. They inform each other, evolve together and ensure the organization is not simply reacting to change, but anticipating it.

As a credit union leader, ask yourself:

• Are these disciplines embedded into the daily rhythm of my credit union?
• Are we making the most of the data available to us?

If the answer isn’t a confident “yes,” the time to act is now. Your members, both current and future, are counting on you.

Jeremy Jenkins is the VP of data analytics for Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union. In this role, he consults with credit unions to help them leverage AI-driven technology solutions brought forward by the Corporate and its technology partners. In 2025, he returned to the Vizo Financial after serving as the president/CEO of Lanco Federal Credit Union in Lancaster, Pa., since 2020. Prior to his time with Lanco FCU, he held various roles at the Corporate, including corporate account manager and member relations director.