Gartner and 1to1 Media have selected Mountain America Credit Union as one of the recipients of the eleventh annual Customer Excellence Award for Innovation in Customer Insight award.
The award recognizes businesses for their customer focus using strategy, technology and execution.
For Mountain America, the award is a vindication of its community-based approach. Unlike a bank, the Salt Lake City-based credit union’s members have an actual stake in its ownership.
"Mountain America is in business to help our members achieve their financial dreams. We work continually to better understand our members' priorities and then match them with quality products and services that complement their unique situation," Dennis Bromley, senior vice president of member development and engagement for Mountain America. "We are honored to receive this award by Gartner & 1to1 Media."
Credit unions became a popular alternative to regular banks after the 2007-08 financial crisis and the subsequent bailout of the “too big to fail” major banks.
Credit Unions like Mountain America pride themselves on a more personal touch to financial services. Mountain America uses the MaritzCX platform to get insights based on customer feedback from surveys, its website, social media and call center.
The credit union has $4.5 billion in assets spread across from 525,000 members in 84 branches across five states, so a lot is riding on its commitment to customer service. With the award, it looks like Mountain America has proved its commitment to its members, and the outside world has recognized its excellence.
"I'm proud of our class of 2015 winners. For the first time, our winners have outlined clear-cut goals, the ability to achieve enterprise-wide buy-in and commitment, cross-departmental process changes and tangible results. Most importantly, they've elevated their customer experience to meet consumer expectations," said Mila D'Antonio, editor-in-chief of 1to1 Media. "My hope is that organizations across all industries will take away at least one element from these winning initiatives to implement within their companies."