Meridiacu.com UX Review by BloomCU

meridiacu.com

User Experience ReviewThe Good, the Okay, and the Ugly

Get more signups for memberships and loans

The day you start talking to your audience and it’s about them, that’s the day that business really happens.

SCOTT STRATTEN

UX Review meridiacu.com

What’s on the menu?

1. KATE IS INTERESTED IN MEMBERSHIP

2. ADAM, A MEMBER, NEEDS AN AUTO LOAN

3. UX SCORECARD


1. Kate is interested in membership

Kate is a 30-year-old mother with two kids. She’s married and makes most of the financial decisions. Kate heard about Meridia CU from a friend and she’s interested in

becoming a member even though she’s been adequately happy banking with Wells Fargo.


Kate: Let’s see if I want to become

a member of Meridia CU.

This is a nice-looking logo.

This is a nice-looking logo. I like nice, smily

people.

I’m not sure what’s up with

this shaded area. It looks funny.

Overall, the site seems dated.


It lacks the engaging, clean feeling I expect from a forward-

thinking organization.


It lacks the engaging, clean feeling I expect from a forward-

thinking organization.

Editor’s note: Let me point out a few things that make the website say, “I’m out-of-date

and not very engaging.”

The site is more narrow than most

modern sites, which gives away the website’s age.

Modern sites use big visuals because they are naturally more

engaging.

Let’s scroll down.

There is quite a bit of information

packed into a pretty small space. Good websites focus first on quality, relevant content rather than

quantity.

There is quite a bit of information

packed into a pretty small space. Good websites focus first on quality, relevant content rather than

quantity.

That being said, a lot of this information could be included

on the home page if it were presented in

a more easily digestible layout.

This section looks like a sidebar of

display ads.

Let’s get back to Kate’s journey.

Kate: Perfect! This is exactly what I’m looking for.

Awesome. This is exactly what I

need to read to see how Meridia

CU is different from Wells Fargo.

Awesome. This is exactly what I

need to read to see how Meridia

CU is different from Wells Fargo.

This sounds a little dogmatic. Banks can exist to help people

too, right?

I like the idea of owning a share of the organization. What does that

mean for me? I’ll keep reading.

I like the idea of owning a share of the organization. What does that

mean for me? I’ll keep reading.

Earning dividends,

getting improved services, and getting lower

rates all sound fantastic.

I like this philosophy.

I like this philosophy.

Oops, there’s a typo.

Looks like I’m eligible.

Let’s learn a bit more.

Let’s learn a bit more.

You mean I get a say in who runs the

CU? That’s cool.


CU? That’s cool.

Interesting history.


CU? That’s cool.

Interesting history. Let’s scroll

down.

Hmmm, paying dividends to a bank’s

stockholders and paying dividends to

members sounds like exactly the same

thing.

Again, this sounds pretty dogmatic.

Now I’m questioning the credibility of the information on

this site.




thing.



this site.




thing.

Meridia CU seems to really hate banks.

Interesting. My experiences with

banks have always been ok.



this site.




thing.

Meridia CU seems to really hate banks.

Interesting. My experiences with

banks have always been ok.

Editor’s note: There have been some negative comments about banks. Maybe they are true, but

the accusations sound like opinions rather than facts. Can you

back up the claims with data? If so, great! In any case, these

comments about banks should be stated more factually; the

negative, opinion-sounding comments make Meridia CU

sound unprofessional.

Scroll.

Kate: Well, I think I might be

interested in joining a credit union, but why

Meridia CU versus another credit

union?

I don’t see anything about

why I should join Meridia CU specifically.



What now?



What now?

Editor’s note: Users should never ask, “What now?” They

should be led through the

experience with calls to action.

Is this how I sign up to become a

member? I’ll check it out.

I have no idea what I would be signing

up for here and what they are

going to do with my email address.




Is this for a newsletter or

something? I’ll pass.




Well, I didn’t find many good reasons

to join Meridia rather than another CU and I don’t know

how to sign up if I did want to join.






But, I’m hungry, so it’s time to eat

lunch. Goodbye.

Well, I didn’t find many good reasons

to join Meridia rather than another CU and I don’t know

how to sign up if I did want to join.



RECAP - Kate wants to become a member

The Good

The OK

The Ugly

• Easy to find information about why I should become a credit union member

• Good information about credit unions in general

• Information about credit unions versus banks is very useful, but some comments sound dogmatic, hurting Meridia’s credibility and professional image

• I didn’t find any information about why I should join Meridia instead of another CU

• How do I become member?

2. Adam needs an auto loan

Adam, a member of Meridia CU, is 37 years old and has an established career. At this point in his life, he has money to

spend and he wants to buy a new car. He’s here to learn about getting an auto loan from Meridia CU.


Adam: Let’s see if Meridia can help me get a

good deal on an auto loan.

That looks like a pretty awesome

rate.


rate.

But, I’m not ready to apply yet; I still

need to learn more.


rate.

But, I’m not ready to apply yet; I still

need to learn more. Here we go.

Sounds good.

How do I find out if I can get that 1.5% rate?

How do I find out if I can get that 1.5% rate?

Here we go.

Cool. Looks like I can probably get

that 1.5% rate.


that 1.5% rate.

What now?


that 1.5% rate.

What now?

I wonder if they have a calculator

to help me crunch some

numbers?

No calculator here.

Or here.

Or here :(

Or here :’(

Or here :’(

I’m not seeing it here

Lloyd.

Let’s check out the application

process.

Hmmm, maybe I don’t want to go to

the application.

Hmmm, maybe I don’t want to go to

the application.

I guess I’ll check it out.

I’m not quite sure I’m ready to apply, but

5-10 minutes doesn’t sound too bad.

Let’s check it out.

This is a lot to read.


It seems like this would be better somewhere

else in the process other than at the very

beginning.


It seems like this would be better somewhere

else in the process other than at the very

beginning.

Sure, I’ll do e-communication.

This is a bit of hoop to jump through, but

I’m glad you care about security.

Registering the computer would be nice, but I’m not going to because I’m just trying to get a quick look at the application I don’t think I’ve even got to the

application yet. Registering will probably

take even more time.




What exactly am I enrolling in?




What exactly am I enrolling in?

I guess I’ll click it.

OK, this is where I actually begin the application.

This is actually quite a bit to fill out. I don’t think I’m

quite ready to do this.

I don’t think I’ve learned enough about getting a

loan from Meridia to justify taking the time to

fill out this form right now. I guess I’ll have to call them or stop by a branch to learn more.

We’ll see when I can get to that.

This is actually quite a bit to fill out. I don’t think I’m

quite ready to do this.

RECAP - Adam needs an auto Loan

The Good

The OK

The Ugly

• Call to action on the home page features a rate of 1.5%, which caught my attention

• Easy to navigate to the auto loan page

• At the beginning of the loan application you captured my email address (nice!)

• You got my email, but not my name. Now, what will you do with the email address? Ideally, you would send me emails nurturing and persuading me to complete a loan application.

• There should be a lower commitment opportunity for me to submit my name, email address, and maybe even phone number other than starting an application

• No loan calculators (calcs are nifty tools to help people learn and make decisions)

• Very limited amount of information about why I should get a loan from Meridia CU

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3. UX Scorecard

Along with this UX Review, we have provided you with a UX Scorecard. The scorecard goes hand-in-hand

with this review to show your website’s strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, we hope this information

will be used to increase your website’s capability to generate

leads for memberships, loans, and other services.


Design

Meridiacu.com UX Review by BloomCU