Customer Experience = Customer Success

If you've never been to an INBOUND event, I highly recommend them. They're full of energy from enthusiastic people at a fantastic conference venue and most importantly a phenomenal source of insight into the future of marketing, sales, and customer experience!

Here's a breakdown of some great quotes we heard today from Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO at HubSpot and our take on what it means for you.

You don't need to make your product 10x better, you need to make your experience 10x lighter.

This couldn't be more true! So many financial institutions, especially smaller ones, still don't provide what would be considered an acceptable online and mobile experience when it comes to opening accounts, applying for loans, and transacting.

Get inspired! Rather than focusing all efforts trying to create the next best deposit product, devote some time and energy to removing the friction for the people already trying to make deposits.

When the experience is seamless, and easy, consumers are more apt to repeat the process, share the experience, leave positive reviews, and become more loyal to your institution.

It's easier to improve your experience 10x then it is to improve your product 10x.

Updating your online and mobile experiences can be as easy as some light development work on your platforms. Un-cluttering content, making easier access to clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs), and overall improving the journey through your website could be a much easier task than new product development.

While CD specials may periodically serve the purpose of fulfilling immediate core deposit needs, improving the larger customer experience is a long-term strategy that will improve overall growth for months and years to come.

Grow Better with a Culture that Puts Customers First

This is a reoccurring theme at INBOUND18. We now live in an engagement economy and it's more important than ever to be delighting your customer at every touch point. To demonstrate their commitment to customer service, HubSpot has just announced their new Customer Code. The Customer Code:

... outlines a shared set of principles and beliefs on how to build a company that customers love. It’s not about what you sell, but how you sell. It’s about making your customers more successful, building relationships by doing the right thing, and focusing on the long-term even when it’s not the easiest path.

We encourage you to check it out at www.customercode.com. 

The Customer Code Tenants

There are several Customer Code Tenants. Here are 5 tenants that cause friction in your Flywheel that should be addressed in all Credit Unions and Community Banks.

Earn my attention, don’t steal it.
Give me something I value before you take something I value (like my time). Did you know... 85% of consumers have a lower opinion of a company that sends them unwanted outreach!?

• Are you guilty of this? 
• Do you often send postcards, newsletters, and other communications full of promotions about your products and services without actually providing value first, or at all? 
• Is the content you send driven by quarterly marketing and growth goals rather than customer needs and interests?

If the answers to any of these questions are 'yes' then it's time to fully adopt a philosophy and strategy that solves for the customer first.

DOWNLOAD NOW: The Ultimate Guide to Successful Inbound Marketing for Your Financial Institution

Solve for my success NOT your systems.

Don't make your process my problem.

This is an area that many financial institutions have the most room for improvement.

If your service team is habitually telling your customer they can't do what they want because of system limitations, or they're outlining details of the underwriting process as an explanation for why the customers expectations haven't been met, you're in a dangerous position of becoming the next Blockbuster Video. 

The customer doesn't care about your systems or processes. They don't care about regulation, compliance and budget restrictions.

Customers care about their experiences and the trust and value they put into your credit union or community bank. If you're not meeting their expectations they will go elsewhere FAST. They won't accept a mediocre experience out of sympathy for your system and process limitations.

Own your screw-ups.
We all make mistakes. Say sorry, be sorry and make it better. 96% of people will not leave if you make a mistake and then fix it.

Admitting you were wrong isn't going to end a relationship if you appropriately address problem and fix it. But be mindful that you don't inadvertently invite complaints in exchange for free stuff on a social channel though!

If you have made a mistake, apologize in the channel the mistake was made in and work with the customer directly when you're able to.

I don't mind paying, but I do mind being played.
Make your pricing open, clear and fair. Don't guard it. If a company doesn't have pricing info on their website 75% of people look elsewhere. If pricing is confusing 65% of people will look elsewhere.

Pricing for financial products, services, and fees should follow this guidance the same way traditional retail sites do.

When you look at your fees, from the member's perspective, are they reasonable and do they make sense? It may make sense to you to charge a fee for bounced checks, and hey, everyone else is doing it right?! But could your institution do better?

Could you create a fee structure that's simplified and doesn't look like your competitors? Strive to make your fees reasonable and easy to understand. This will delight your customers!

Pricing should be programmatic. Don't make customers negotiate discounts and don't allow some people to get discounts others don't receive. There may come a day when this could be considered discrimination. Now's the time to look at your pricing, rates, fees, and any other way your customers own you money, and see if you can do better.

Don't block the exit.
You made buying easy. Don't make leaving so hard. If you make cancellations easy, 89% of people are more likely to buy.

You can buy in one click. Can you cancel in one click? Do you have a one click 'end your membership' button? Would you be willing to put one on your site?

Want to learn more? Read about growing your financial institution via Inbound Marketing today, or Contact Us and we can explain how we work with banks and credit unions to keep growing and remaining relevant to the next generation of customers!