Doc describes precisely what is so annoying about Banks, Telco’s and other large companies, yet we continue to design them this way …  sigh At one point the call center maze voice tells me to enter my account number and my telephone access code, whatever that is. So I guess it might be the last digits of my social security number. Nope. How about the last four of my company’s federal ID number. No luck. The last five digits? Six? Bzzzt. Then I try just punching zero at every possible choice point. But the system keeps telling me to now … Continue reading Customer Deflection Mismanagement

 An excellent example from Charis.  A couple commented about a hotel on their blog, and got this response.  Obviously the hotel is monitoring their mentions in Technorati/ Google Blogsearch, and following up. They were a bit disappointed when they found out on arrival that the restaurant was closed over the Christmas period. They mentioned this on the blog as part of their commentary of the places they visited whilst on holidays. Just last week the head office of the hotel chain posted a comment on their blog to apologise about the restaurant being closed and to offer them a free … Continue reading Blogs for complaint management: Leveraging the blogosphere

 I think this is one of the issues that Banks have a hard time dealing with.  Internal politics, and fear of PR damage.  It needs commitment at the highest level to overcome this. Fears over brand damage are preventing the UK’s major retail banks and building societies from implementing Web 2.0 applications, according to research conducted by IT specialist Conchango Source: Finextra: Fears of brand damage scaring banks away from Web 2.0   Technorati tags: banks+web2.0 Continue reading Conchango suggests brand damage is Bank’s fear of Web 2.0

 I can’t wait to see the response to this. Jim Flaherty, the Finance Minister, has asked for a “direct” answer from the CEOs of the country’s biggest banks regarding their ATM fee regime. But the best consumers can hope for is that Mr. Flaherty’s pressure will force the banks to roll back fees. That’s because Ottawa does not regulate the day-today pricing of financial services products Source: Canadian Banks & Insurance What a great opportunity for differentiation.  In Canada each Bank charges customers of any other Bank a $1.50 fee for using their ATM.  At first this seemed brilliant because … Continue reading Canadian Banks asked for answer on ATM fees

 Ron has a deep understanding of Banks, and Bank customer research.  He discusses the Net Promoter Score, and finishes with three types of customer/bank relationships, based on his experience.  What is interesting here is the reality that most/all Banks seek a ‘relationship’ with their customers, yet customers have different needs.  As a Bank customer, do you seek a ‘relationship’ or something different, and more practical.  Here are Ron’s three types. Interpersonal excellence Advice and guidance Operational excellence Source: The ONE Question To Ask Customers « Marketing ROI: Whims from Ron Shevlin The only qualification I would place here is that … Continue reading What do customers expect of Banks?

This press release certainly talks up a storm, and says all the right things.  Using instant online application, most new and existing BB&T clients can open multiple accounts, receive immediate approval decisions, and transfer funds into the new account from both BB&T and other checking accounts immediately. Source: Finextra: BB&T introduces instant online account opening Their stats talk to the success of applications online. “During our initial testing phase, nearly 65 percent of our online applications have been submitted by clients who were not previous BB&T account holders,” she said. “Overall, it’s clear to us that we now have many more … Continue reading Finextra: BB&T introduces instant online account opening

 I feel I am on a real Bank bashing thing at the moment.  International remittances are another thing we blogged about many times earlier. Now some big agendas are starting to become more obvious. 19 mobile firms are backing the GSM Associations pilot programme to move Global Remittance onto mobile platforms. Estimates vary but the UK send back home £2.5 billion in a year. With fees being anything from 6% to 12% that makes for very sound business. At a global level around $230 billion is sent home annually. Source: Mobile remittance – the call you want to get « Credit … Continue reading International remittances – update