It’s All About The Relationship

Blogs. Wikis. RSS feeds. Communicating with your customers through these Web 2.0 technologies seems to be the in thing now. Banks and credit unions are being told that they need to be more open. Transparency seems to be the word of the day. Openness with customers is all well and good, but I believe that customers want a lot more than that. As banks and credit unions become more automated, there are fewer opportunities for building a relationship and this is where Web 2.0 enters the picture.

I happen to believe that technology isn’t the most important thing. Building a meaningful relationship with the customer is more important. If you’re starting a blog just to talk about your products or where your CEO is speaking next, you’re just wasting your time. However, if it’s to give valuable information to your customers or members, such as here, then you’re on the right track.

I believe people want to believe that their FI is ultimately there to help them, not just fee them to death. Doing more offline is just as important. For example, why not give presentations at local schools and introduce banking to kids? Heck, you could possibly open a few kids’ savings accounts while you’re there. When the local college semester starts, do you have a booth set up to open accounts and make it easier for parents to deposit into their child’s account? Why not give classes on how to use your online banking? Better yet, why not have an open session for the community to come in and learn how to use MS Money, Quicken and Quickbooks?

These community related activities will do more to put a “face” on your FI than blogging ever will. Technology shouldn’t be used in place of these activities; it should be used in conjunction with them. Real 1.0 is just as important as Web 2.0.