Create loyalty with a Thank you.

I have to say, that yes, we market ourselves but when I frequent businesses and restaurants, even when I travel – I look to see what others are doing, heck, it’s only natural. And it seems everywhere you go, advertising is screaming at you. Whether it’s a special rate, discount, new product, what have you.

On that note though…what rises above the dim? Seriously. If you stop and think about it, it is exceptional customer service. Frosted mug service, as I’d like to call it. At Hopewell Federal Credit Union, we do are very best to deliver this service everyday, and as they say, some days are better than others, we’re not perfect-who is? But we do try and put our best foot forward to go that extra mile for our members.

On that note, how far does Word of Mouth marketing go? I’ve been to numerous conferences and conventions and have pretty much heard and seen it all. But here’s something you might try-whether you work at a grocery store, financial institution, retail store, you name it, “Thank you, be sure and tell your friends about us.”

 Now you might be scratching your head, thinking why am I talking about this in a blog? Well, in a world where credit unions are the little guy in comparison to the large, financial institutions out there-and the virtual ones with absolutely no bricks and mortar-I’d like to think that this could take us a long way. That this one-on-one, in person, in a real building customer service still counts for something.

After all, isn’t that how business originally was done? With a firm handshake and a thank you, come again? I’m not saying that we should turn our noses up at social media-not at all-I’m a big supporter of it and I love doing my own banking on-line. But I’d still like to think that at the end of the day, if you’re happy with the services you’ve received at our institution, you’ll refer your friends to us.

Try it, at the business you work at, you might be surprised at the results. I’d love to hear back from you.

To Blog or Not to Blog…That is the Question

Hello again,

 I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about Blogging. We’ve talked about why we blog, and several fellow financial institutions have made inquiries about our blog, and that they’d like to set something up as well. I say, here, here!

In this day and age, where you can click or swipe to get immediate answers to questions. Why not offer a blog? It really can give you one on one communication with your members, and potential members that are out there. And often, I find some folks feel more comfortable writing their questions on a blog then coming in and asking in person. Fear not I say-I understand that sometimes folks feel uncomfortable asking questions in person for fear of feeling or looking dumb. Feel free to blog me, there really are no stupid questions.

Now, why you may not get the immediate responses you are looking for, let’s face it, sometimes these things take time, but don’t worry, word of mouth will come. And in the meantime, just keep plugging away!

So I say, to all thinking about blogging-go for it and blog on!