If you work at a Maine Bank or are a customer of one, Read THIS!
31 Dec
Last night I posed this question to Twitter:
“What is the best bank in Maine to open a business checking account? Any recs?”
A seemingly boring question, after all, my business is new and I’m looking for a reputable bank to do business with. I have a core group of friends on Twitter whose recommendations I trust, so I thought that would be the best place to start my bank information gathering.
I was right. In less than 30 minutes, 21 local Maine residents responded with recommendations, personal stories and nightmares of their experiences with over 8 banks in the Southern Maine area. The most loved local bank was Bangor Savings Bank. The ones to stay away from, according to the local twitter crowd, were Bank of America & Key Bank. A quick search of all eight banks mentioned only revealed one of them was using Twitter. Bank of America. (Update: TD Bank also has at Twitter account)
I understand that as a banking institution, jumping into social media can be risky. But if for no other reason than to listen to what consumers are saying about you..you will get value out of it. Whenever I present at social media seminars, I always emphasize that listening is just as important as engaging in social media.
Below you will find what I would do if I were working as a social marketing consultant for these banks:
If I were Bangor Savings Bank: I would send the current customers who gave a positive recommendation a toaster or a toolbox (or whatever they are giving away that month. I love free gifts from my bank). This would further solidify these customers as a brand evangelists. Another bonus is that you can bet your bottom dollar that they are going to tweet about their free gift too!
If I were Bank of America, KeyBank or TD Bank: I would reach out to those who have had issues and gave negative recommendations and do my best to answer any questions they had and reinforce that going forward those issues will be remedied in a much more timely and friendly manner.
If I were Norway Savings, Kennebunk Savings, Bath Savings or Gorham Savings: The consumer perception is positive for these banks. I would continue to monitor any conversations going on in social media and be ready to respond and say Thank you when a recommendation is given.
Do me a favor and pass this blog post along to anyone you know who works at one of these banks. They should know what consumers are saying about their company.
6 Responses to “If you work at a Maine Bank or are a customer of one, Read THIS!”
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Where were you six years ago when I needed a rec of a good Maine bank and ended up at Key instead? barf. In any case, I do intend to pass along this post to Key, even if they end up ignoring it (I’m pretty sure my letter got circular-filed; there’s certainly been no actual response). Doesn’t do any good to sit on my anger. Thanks for this.
Right on the money. Banks need to recognize their brands are part of the conversation.
With tweets popping up in search engine results, this will become a powerful form of marketing. One question can lead to a collection of banking reviews. If they’re afraid of taking part in the conversation they should at least buy ads placed around it.
Great post with great suggestions. My negative experience with Key doesn’t involve the services, per se, but the attitude of the senior management. I relayed a my experience in a recent blog post on my http://www.BoldVisionBlog.com. (Is Social Media Relevant? -or- You Can’t Soar With the Eagles if you Think Like a Turkey)
In addition to the toasters and online engagement activities Key (and other backward organizations) I also suggest taking a hard look at how they are sometimes their own worst enemies. There’s a reality of change out there and neither fear nor ignorance will slow it down. The tighter one holds on to the “way it was”, the further behind you’ll get. In fact, don’t even get used to the “way it is”. Tomorrow it will be different.
Just my quick follow-up – this is what Key’s response was:
Dear Mr. Denkmire:
Thank you for contacting Key. I appreciate your email and I am sorry to
hear that you have had a poor experience with KeyBank.
I sincerely apologize for any negative experiences you may have
encountered in the course of your banking relationship with us,
especially in regards to our overdraft policies. It is our goal to treat
all customers with dignity and respect, and we apologize if we have not
met that standard.
For additional assistance, please contact us at 1-800-539-2968. We are
available weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 6
p.m., local time.
Good thing they were listening…
Banks do not see themselves as needing to communicate with their customers. Especially in an informal way that makes them equals.
As for a reccomendation. I opened a Bangor Savings account for my business last summer with the intention of moving all of my business and have been underwhelmed with the follow up.
A Camden National customer for 30 years I have been vocal about the quality of our relationship and I have to say that they were helpful and prompt in moving me through the process to get an ARC loan for Maine Outdoors last summer. Much better than any previous interaction with them.
University Credit Union ROCKS! Great local service plus 4% interest on checking!