I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: “Read Fast Company!!” On page 71 of their July/August issue they have an article entitled “Talk to our customers? Are you crazy?” The article details the experience immersion, as the subject of the article calls it, and it outlines Credit Suisse Bank and how they are figuring out what the members, I mean customers, want.
Raise your hand if your CU has done a member survey in the past two years…….. Good for you. But wait you say, we do transactional-based surveys and we have a suggestion box online and a voicemail box to leave suggestions too. Pull out the party poppers. Everyone has that.
Some of you reading this might, just might have thoughts of a blog dancing in your mind like a sugar-plum fairy and good for you. But Credit Suisse has a real focus on finding out what their members, I mean customers want. (That’s a hard habit to kick!) They actual talk to their members. Not focus groups. Not surveys. Real, in person chats, in their branches. Now it doesn’t happen all the time but they drug out a few busy executives to 3 of their branches for a little visit.
The first branch the execs had to learn how to watch customers. The next branch they had to do some customer-type transactions. And the third branch they had to actual talk to real people. In person. Face to face. The end result: branch remodels, strategies to decrease wait time, and redesigns of basic policies.
Credit Suisse is doing an awesome thing, and us as CU’s need to pay attention. They are really talking to their members. Get those VP’s out in the branches. Make them do different transactions in a branch. Make them wait in line. Make them find an ATM location on your website or apply for a credit card.
Put on your member hat. And you can’t do it by sitting in your office because they are not just like you!