By Shaw Taylor on January 27th, 2012
Today, card issuers are focused on how they can innovate in their rewards programs to attract and retain customers. Many are looking to the successful Groupon Deals model of online discounts for inspiration (see Bank of America’s recent announcement about a BankAmeriDeals merchant discount program they’re testing).
Social media is emerging as a key vehicle to engage customers about rewards, and even to deliver targeted deals based on customers’ demonstrated interests. At the vanguard of this movement is American Express, which launched its Link, Like, Love rewards program on Facebook last year. Described as “Groupon without the Coupon”, the program lets you link your American Express card to your Facebook account. Then American Express delivers deals and offers based on your Facebook activity, pages you like and share, as well as the activities of your Facebook friends.
Using our Social Customer Insights service, we employed social media analytics to take a deeper look at the Link, Like, Love campaign. We identified how American Express is differentiating itself, strenghts and weaknesses of the program, key customer feedback and the card issuer’s response strategy.
DOWNLOAD the case study here, and learn how you can leverage social networks for your rewards program:
- Understand how to increase engagement to drive awareness and conversion
- Leverage customer input to tailor offers for increased relevance and results
- Define metrics for success that align with business objectives like building satisfaction and loyalty
By Gavin James on January 10th, 2012
Co-author: Dana Roytenberg
Lessons for financial institutions to increase brand impact
Most companies spend a lot of time defining their brand – the values they want people to associate with their business – and market to promote that perception. But these days, companies face challenges in controlling how their brand is perceived, because customers have the tools to broadcast their experiences with the business on a mass scale. A “brand” is now less about brand promises, and more about how companies deliver on those promises.
- How customer experience is becoming the brand. While many consumers may not know a company’s official brand story, it’s a good bet they have impressions about the brand, based on their experience across various touch points, as well as influence from friends, family, media, and the general public. Consider the recent public outcry about proposed debit card fees, which led banks to reverse decisions to charge fees for debit card use. Even the anticipation of a negative experience led customers nationwide to express negative perceptions about “big banks.” As a result, though banks may not have lost a significant amount of customers, the value of their brand and customer loyalty may have suffered.
- Social media is evolving how we experience brands.
 Consumers are increasingly turning to social media to express service complaints, and how/when/if a company responds may influence their perception of the brand. Additionally, social networks like Twitter and Facebook make it easy for passionate consumers to voice their perceptions about a business (good or bad), potentially influencing millions of people. In other words, “word of mouth” has gone viral. To maintain control of their brand, businesses need to ensure the customer experience aligns with their brand promises.
Understanding how to monitor customer experience
To strengthen a brand, you need to deliver the experience customers want. That starts with effective listening and engagement, combined with agility to keep up with changing expectations.
- Gain a holistic view of the customer experience with analytics. If you have a Voice of the Customer program, make sure you’re monitoring across all channels and touch points. For example, the rise of digital banking means new challenges in ensuring a smooth experience across online and mobile access, ATMs, and automated phone services. For a richer perspective on the customer experience, consider using text mining of unstructured data (e.g., social media comments) to complement structured data (such as profiles and transaction histories).
 Measure emotional connection to your brand. A strong brand is one that resonates with people, so it’s vital to track how customers and the public feel about your company. Sentiment analysis can help you effectively spot trends and emerging issues. When sentiment is positive, you can engage champions to increase brand awareness. When the tide turns negative, you’ll be better prepared to address problems early and offer special attention to improve brand perception.
Increasing brand impact with customer experience insights
As people and technologies evolve, so does the customer experience. Your brand needs to evolve along with it. Effective analysis of feedback across all touch points gives you a clear picture of the customer experience, and guides you in engaging with customers in ways that strengthen your brand.
Here are a few examples of financial services companies doing it well:
 American Express® – Maximizing engagement on Facebook
The company is successfully using social media to reinforce positive feelings about the brand and drive customer acquisition. On Facebook they ask questions that tie a customer’s personal experiences with Amex products, such as, “What summer memories did your Amex Card make possible? Our analysis of 5,300 Facebook comments over two months helped target which efforts worked best to engage customers. And their Link-Like-Love program takes engagement to the next level by rewarding existing and new customers based on what they “like” on Facebook.
- Experian™ – Using analytics to increase loyalty and drive new business
As part of their customer-centric daily workflow, Experian Credit Services uses data analytics to monitor feedback, and delivers it to sales and service teams who can take action quickly. The company also shares feedback across the organization, categorized for client segments to help lines of business understand unique needs and concerns. In this way, Experian stays prepared to meet and exceed client expectations, which helps enhance brand perception and increase the likelihood of recommendations.
- California Coast Credit Union – Leveraging YouTube to promote the brand
To attract new business and strengthen perceptions of their brand, the credit union encourages members to share entertaining video clips that celebrate the brand and generate enthusiasm with young audiences. It effectively builds loyalty into the customer experience, while promoting the brand as a welcoming community.
Brand is about more than goodwill; it’s a valuable company asset that’s beginning to appear on balance sheets at significant valuations. And customer experience is about more than meeting basic needs; it’s about making people feel great –trust, ease, convenience, delight. Companies that deliver on their brand promises –by systematically aligning their customers’ experience with their brand vision– will be positioned to win for the long term.
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By Brandon Purcell on January 4th, 2012
2011 was an important year for Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs in the financial services industry. Many banks and credit unions adopted new Voice of the Customer initiatives, and companies with existing VoC programs began to harness their full potential with new types of analyses. Some companies monitor customer feedback to determine the top customer experience pain points and service breaks. Other companies gauge their brands’ relative health by tracking sentiment on social media. However, there is one VoC strategy in particular that companies are beginning to adopt for its significance, swiftness, and overall necessity–the analysis of Emerging Issues.
What are Emerging Issues and why are they important?
 In an Emerging Issues analysis of Twitter and Facebook data, Beyond the Arc identified a linkage problem between the Bank of America website and Mint.com. Click graphic above to read the case study.
- Customer experience pain points – Emerging Issues are commonly characterized by a sudden increase in the volume of comments about a certain aspect of the customer experience. For example, if a bank rarely sees comments about wire transfers, and then suddenly receives a huge influx of chatter on the subject, an Emerging Issues analysis will flag wire transfers so an analyst can look into the problem. Monitoring and quick identification of Emerging Issues allows a company to fix problems before they affect a large number of customers.
- Risk is another factor in determining Emerging Issues. Some comments, even in smaller quantities, might warrant further inspection. Typically, these issues center on security breaches or regulatory and legal compliance. For example, an Emerging Issues analysis can monitor “phishing” complaints so a bank can make necessary changes to their websites and email protocols to protect customers from fraud. In these cases, the potential risk to your customers and your brand qualifies it as an Emerging Issue. Therefore, certain themes should be assigned a degree of risk, so that comment volume is not the only factor.
- Strategic opportunity is another type of Emerging Issue a company can identify and track. Internal customer feedback and social media both provide a wealth of information for banks and credit unions about their competitors and their products. Companies can monitor this data to determine the moment their competitors are doing something right so they can emulate it. Conversely, when competitors misstep, a business can capitalize on the opportunity immediately.
How to implement an Emerging Issues analysis
Like a well-managed Voice of the Customer program, an effective Emerging Issues analysis relies on a combination of text analytics and business intelligence.
- The quantitative aspect looks like this: Text analysis uses natural language processing software to “read” through thousands or even millions of comments, and then categorizes comments based on their content. A strong VoC program should invest sufficient time and resources into refining this categorization for accuracy. Text analysis can then be used to determine the total number of comments referencing each theme. Once the average number of comments on each theme is established, the software can look for significant deviations.
- The qualitative aspect of Emerging Issues analysis relies on business intelligence. A good analyst who understands the bank’s business as well as the customer experience is needed to interpret the data. Analysts should initially help design the analysis by using their financial services knowledge to refine the categorization scheme. They should also assign weights to categories based on severity, or to issues of strategic importance to the organization. Then, they can interpret the analysis by separating the noise from the true insights, and by digging deeper when necessary.
- The final piece of this analysis involves taking swift and decisive action based on the results. An effective Voice of the Customer program should be aligned with partners to implement changes. The whole point of Emerging Issues is to nip problems in the bud before they snowball out of control.
Start the analysis now!
Analyzing Emerging Issues on a regular basis allows you to:
- Address customer experience issues proactively
- Fix service breaks before they become systemic
- Protect your brand from negative perception
- Mitigate your exposure to legal and security risks
- Stop attrition before it happens
Given all these benefits, why not start today?
By Shaw Taylor on December 21st, 2011
Where we are in 2011
 Social media is providing retail banking with a highly valuable opportunity as millions of consumers are engaging on numerous public forums. Ponder these stats for a moment:
- 1,000,000+ RSVPs in 2011 for events promoted through LinkedIn, a professional social network. (Source: LinkedIn)
- 81% of small businesses now use social media, up from 73% in early 2011. (Source: Constant Contact)
- 66% of U.S. adults use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Source: Pew Internet)
- 2,400 advertising partners for Twitter, up from 600 in June 2011. (Source: Twitter)
- 53% of young adults ages 18-29 go online for no particular reason on any given day. (Source: Pew Internet)
- 42.6 billion videos were viewed by the U.S. Internet audience in October 2011, an all-time high. (Source: comScore)
More and more, consumers expect businesses to listen, engage, and provide personal attention through social networks. Banks and credit unions have begun to adopt these practices to win new customers and deepen existing relationships.
How did you do in 2011?
As the year comes to a close, how did your social media efforts move forward in 2011? Did you start a Twitter account? Have you managed to run a successful community campaign on Facebook that raised brand awareness and attracted new fans? Maybe you’re more advanced and are beginning to measure your success by aligning social media to your core business objectives. Whatever the case, congratulations!
Plan to align social media with key banking objectives in 2012
In 2012, we’ll continue to see banks and other financial services institutions use social media to accelerate three key business objectives:
- Customer acquisition: Engaging brand advocates and promoting interactive campaigns to acquire new customers and increase loan portfolios.
- Community engagement: Building strong customer relationships through encouraging member participation and demonstrating local support.
- Customer service: Providing prompt, personal attention for questions or complaints.
6 key trends to expect in 2012
- Engagement will be the Key Performance Indicator to manage. Organizations will increase focus on how, when, and how often they engage customers in social media to understand what works best to meet business goals.
- Analytics to monitor and measure progress will grow in importance. To realize ROI in social media, organizations need to effectively track social commentary about their business, and define benchmarks for success.
- Filtering out the noise will prove increasingly important to ROI. As the raw volume of social media data continues to rise, powerful tools will be essential for targeting key issues, trends in sentiment, and emerging issues.
- Location based services will evolve and offer new opportunities. Savvy financial institutions can engage customers at the branch and, when appropriate, drive those conversations online to continue the dialog.
- Tracking competitors in social media will fuel marketing strategy. More organizations will analyze social media campaigns of competing businesses to identify best practices (and pitfalls to avoid) for their own business.
- Enterprise-wide social media initiatives will gain momentum. To grow the business, enterprises will increasingly see the value in leveraging online networks to accelerate customer service, strengthen relationships, and build community for the brand.
Social media is quickly evolving into a mainstream requirement for many businesses as consumers increase their expectations about online engagement. In 2012, we’ll likely see a surge in banks and credit unions leveraging social networks to improve the customer experience, strengthen loyalty, and attract new business.
We hope you’ll be one of them ~ much success to you in 2012!
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By Nina Katz on November 18th, 2011
Insights from analyzing posts on American Express’ Facebook Wall
Build it and they will come. But is this true for fan pages? To find out about strategies to maximize engagement, we analyzed posts on the American Express Facebook Wall.
Fan pages are all about engagement and the way you use your page is critical to its success. The tactical goal is to quickly move through a 3-stage process: building your fan base, getting them to read your posts, and motivating them to actively participate in the conversation.
Our approach – applying social media data mining to American Express
Company fan pages offer opportunities for analysis as they tend to have more liberal privacy settings, including access to comments on posts and “Like” counts.
Our approach was to analyze posts and compare responses from the corporate American Express Facebook Wall. We looked at 5,288 comments to posts over two months and then compared the posts to find which ones got the most people engaged. To measure engagement, we noted the number of comments per day and the number of likes per post. We used both measures, although “liking” a post is a passive response, while commenting on a post or writing on a company’s wall are actions of an active fan.
What we found
The post that received the highest number of comments per day and likes per day invited customers to share their weekend plans.
It’s easy for people to fill in the blank and describing their weekend is fun to do. As long as the topic is of interest, fill in the blank, true/false, and multiple choice questions/statements could all be effective ways to drive engagement on Facebook fan pages.
 Two other highly engaging posts on the Amex Facebook Wall succeeded due to the topics – summer vacation and favorite memories – which were cleverly tied to the product, the American Express card.
A different type of fan page post proved engaging too… one that appealed to people’s aspirations and the “self” they want to portray online. Disaster relief, community activities, other fund raisers, and travel can be engaging for similar reasons.
Key takeaways
Fan pages are about creating engagement. Learning from our insights about American Express, you are likely to create engagement when you:
- Make it easy for people by using “fill-in-the-blank,”
multiple choice, true/false, or any other quick way to respond.
- Address what people care about, such as an adventure or
exciting event. For example, “I’m taking my Amex Card to ___________ with _________.”
- Allow people to “show off” the exciting or significant things they’ve done.
For example, “What summer memories did your Amex Card make possible?”
- Appeal to people’s aspirational self through a charitable cause or community event.
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By Gavin James on November 9th, 2011
Co-author: Brandon Purcell
Social media analytics of Twitter comments provide answers
By now, you’ve probably heard of Bank Transfer Day, a grassroots movement launched on Facebook® by a disgruntled Bank of America customer. The event, which prompted people to move their accounts from “big banks” to com munity banks and credit unions, generated a groundswell of social media activity in the weeks leading up to the target date of November 5, 2011.
To capture insights on public sentiment around Bank Transfer Day, Beyond the Arc analyzed social media comments on Twitter® for the day of the event. Although the topic originated on Facebook, we focused on Twitter to analyze content from both event organizers and a wide spectrum of retail banking consumers.
Additionally, Twitter is a powerful channel for promoting viral messaging, where hot tips and links circulate rapidly via retweets, often in greater numbers than the “small talk” found on Facebook. In fact, social media analytics showed that nearly 8% of our sample set (over 137, 000 posts) of Twitter traffic on November 5 talked about Bank Transfer Day.
What does the social media data tell us about Bank Transfer Day?
In analyzing Twitter posts about Bank Transfer Day, we sought to answer a number of compelling questions, such as:
- What motivated people to participate?
- What key themes were discussed?
- Which banks were mentioned most?
With an in-depth look at the data, we uncovered some valuable insights about the impact of Bank Transfer Day on banks and credit unions.
Driving factors in participation
On its own, the idea of Bank Transfer Day (BTD) generated strong engagement amongst dissatisfied consumers, sparked by announcements from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase that they would soon charge a fee for debit card transactions. However, the event got a major boost by coinciding with the nationwide momentum of Occupy Wall Street. As a result, nearly 20% of all Twitter posts on Bank Transfer Day also referenced Occupy Wall Street.
It’s also important to consider the power of community in the momentum behind Bank Transfer Day. People love to share their passions, and in social media, the sharing of simple concerns can quickly turn into a wave of influence across a community. Facebook was instrumental in powering that wave, and on event day:
- 15% of Twitter posts about Bank Transfer Day linked to the original Facebook page;
- 10% of tweets were from people expressing dissatisfaction about their current bank; and
- 15% of tweets included an RSVP to participate, pushing the total “attendees” of Bank Transfer Day to 82,000 on event day.
What were people saying? Key themes of discussion
In our analysis of Twitter data on Bank Transfer Day, we focused on what people were saying about banks vs. credit unions, and identified the following key themes:
Typical to the viral power of Twitter, much of the social traffic on Bank Transfer Day included retweets of popular links (over 4,900 or 45% of BTD posts that day). The most frequently retweeted post highlighted the sentiment of the day: “Happy Bank Transfer Day! If you haven’t moved your money, read our step-by-step guide to leaving a big predatory bank. <link>.”
Which banks were mentioned most?
Out of nearly 11,000 Twitter posts referencing Bank Transfer Day on November 5, Bank of America was the most mentioned bank, with 263 references, or 2% of the total. The second most cited was Wells Fargo, referenced 116 times (1%). These posts typically mentioned fees and bailouts.
Inevitably, the day prompted negative feedback about big banks, and while it’s the kind of social media commentary that can rapidly influence the public, it’s also an opportunity for the banks to engage effectively to preserve their brand. A key benefit of closely monitoring social media is that companies can quickly identify risks, address issues, and reassure customers.
What’s the impact of Bank Transfer Day?
Long before the day of the event, banks and credit unions were seeing a sweeping trend in consumer choices. Across the nation, in the four weeks leading to November 5, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reported signing up 650,000 new members (compared with the typical average of 80,000 per month), adding a total of $4.5 billion. On the event day alone, credit unions nationwide brought in 40,000 new members, according to a CUNA survey.
This event is evidence of the power of social media in raising awareness of consumer concerns. Public pressure from many fronts appears to have influenced Wells Fargo, Chase, and finally, Bank of America to rescind their debit card fee programs. Given the momentum of social media, banks should monitor and analyze consumer comments on social networks to ensure that their objectives are aligned with public sentiment.
Final analysis
Bank Transfer Day not only gave a voice to common concerns, it offered a structure for acting upon those concerns – both of which were greatly magnified by leveraging social media. Facebook provided the platform for building community around an emotionally charged topic, and Twitter made it seamless to disseminate key soundbites and viral links. By analyzing social media data, companies can gain a well-informed picture of what’s driving key issues and public persuasion, so they can effectively manage risks and take advantage of opportunities to increase brand loyalty.
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By Gavin James on October 17th, 2011
 As YouTube™ has gained overwhelming popularity as a video sharing platform for consumers, businesses have been quick to recognize the marketing potential. Reaching nearly 500 million users worldwide each month in 2011, YouTube now sees over 3 billion page views per day on their site alone; with hundreds of millions more videos watched on mobile devices and embedded in other websites. As the third most visited website in the world, YouTube offers banks and credit unions valuable exposure that can dramatically increase brand awareness.
Furthermore, financial services organizations can leverage YouTube’s social network of viewer comments and link sharing to track public perceptions of a bank’s video content, to ensure they are delivering the most relevant and compelling visual messages to attract new business and meet customer needs.
Using YouTube to achieve key business objectives
YouTube can be a highly effective business tool for financial services, providing an entertaining medium to demonstrate expertise, share knowledge, solve problems, and promote products. In addition to marketing, the viral nature of this video platform makes it a powerful channel for meeting important business goals, such as:
- Customer acquisition: Promoting the brand by showcasing benefits, products, and member testimonials.
- Community engagement: Generating buzz for local events and highlighting loyal customers.
- Customer service: Proactively supporting customers with how-to videos that address common concerns.
How to increase customer acquisition using YouTube 
YouTube enables your organization to increase market exposure with targeted content.
- Wells Fargo reposts TV ads such as their “Owning a Home” commercial to reach out to people needing a mortgage. YouTube enables the bank to maximize the value of marketing media to attract new customers.
- DATCU Credit Union posts news clips from reputable sites such as ABC News, which discuss rising bank fees and low interest rates as evidence to support a switch to their credit union.
How YouTube helps you build community engagement 
YouTube allows you to highlight local sponsorships and relevant news to motivate engagement.
- Bank of America posts stories about their charitable efforts in local communities, along with related news and interviews that can be shared across social networks.
- Michigan Credit Union League engages with members by posting clips of events such as their annual convention.
How to leverage YouTube to improve customer service 
YouTube delivers insights on customer concerns so you can react quickly to preserve your brand.
- Chase tracks complaints posted in video and engages customers to resolve the issues. The video stories, and related viewer comments, also provide valuable insight into areas for service improvement.
- California Coast Credit Union shares entertaining clips from members that help celebrate the brand and generate enthusiasm with young audiences.
Improving customer experience with YouTube
While YouTube offers a compelling and cost-effective channel for promoting your business, as a social media network, it’s also a critically important tool for tracking public sentiment about your customers’ experience. You can also take advantage of the wealth of content and comments on YouTube to gain insight on consumer perceptions and competing organizations, to strengthen your own customer experience strategy. With visual messaging targeted to meet a range of needs, you can enhance customer support and attract new business.
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By Shaw Taylor on October 17th, 2011
 With over 800 million users as of October 2011, Facebook® has become one of the most powerful business tools for reaching new customers and building relationships. More than two billion posts are “liked” and commented on each day, and the average user –strongest in the 18-44 age group– connects to up to 80 community pages, groups, and events. Facebook is rapidly growing into the preferred medium for online conversation, boosted largely by easy access on mobile devices, which has doubled activity in the past year to more than 350 million users. With such broad exposure, combined with the fast and flexible nature of this platform, Facebook is ideally suited to help financial services organizations build customer engagement and increase brand awareness.
Using Facebook to accelerate key business goals
Many financial services institutions are taking advantage of Facebook to increase direct interaction with customers to achieve a number of key business objectives, such as:
- Customer acquisition: Increasing awareness and driving new customer growth with engaging content.
- Community engagement: Generating buzz and participation to strengthen connections with customers.
- Service breaks: Identifying and addressing problems that impact customers.
- Customer service: Providing an additional channel for prompt, personal attention for questions or complaints.
How Facebook helps you drive new customer acquisition
Facebook enables your organization to increase awareness and customer growth.
- By mining the social graph for purchase intent, tracking relationships and published comments, you can target consumers based on affinity and conversation.
- Facebook is a huge referrer of traffic and online sales. By optimizing your business fan pages, and integrating paid, owned, and earned media, you can increase referral traffic.
- Social commerce drives return on investment by leveraging unique, engaging experiences that influence consumers toward purchase decisions.
How Facebook helps you build community
Facebook allows your organization to spotlight activities that motivate community engagement. 
- Providing fresh, engaging content is the key to building a strong community on Facebook.
- Limited time promotions, contests, and sweepstakes can be some of the most powerful tools in your Facebook strategy.
- Highlighting sponsorship activity on Facebook is rapidly growing in popularity. Generating enthusiasm with participants before, during, and after events helps drive brand affinity.
- Become a go-to source for financial tips by posting links to helpful money management articles.
Improving customer experience with Facebook
Facebook offers financial services companies a fast, easy, and highly versatile platform for managing customer experience and marketing. By carefully listening to what customers are saying, responding promptly to concerns, offering proactive tips, and inviting conversation, you can drive customer engagement to win new business and earn loyalty.
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By Shaw Taylor on October 14th, 2011
Retail banking is now witnessing a change similar to when banks began embracing the Internet in the 1990s. Back then, banks actively pursued the opportunity but their efforts lagged that of other industries and consumer demand.
Fast-forward to 2011, where social media is providing retail banking with a similar opportunity; some 750 million consumers spend nearly 4 hours/week on Facebook. Many banks are embracing social media because this is where the customers are – especially the younger generations they covet so highly. Because more and more consumers expect businesses to listen, engage, and provide personal attention through social networks, banks have begun to adopt these practices to win new customers and deepen existing relationships.
Aligning social media with critical banking objectives
At Beyond the Arc, we’ve found that financial institutions that use social media effectively are aligning their efforts with three key business objectives:
- Customer acquisition: Engaging brand advocates to acquire new customers and increase loan portfolios.
- Community engagement: Building strong customer relationships through engaging member participation.
- Customer service: Providing prompt, personal attention for questions or complaints.
1. Customer acquisition – opportunities in social media
- Target Generation Y (e.g., providing the proper message, via the appropriate channel)
- Offer expert advice (e.g., get a will, plan for retirement, purchase a house)
- Showcase social responsibility (e.g., school fund raising, philanthropy)
- Issue cross-promotions (e.g., Partner with life insurance firms)
Example 1: TD Canada Trust Money Lounge on Facebook
TD Canada Trust goes where it’s customers are, Facebook! Not only do they provide expert services and tap into new-media used by Generation Y, but they also provide engaging content to keep their audience coming back for more.
2. Community engagement – opportunities in social media
- Target key demographics with sponsorships that align with their interests (e.g., Chase Corporate Challenge, Bank of the West Tennis Classic)
- Build engagement by aligning your brand with industry celebrity events (e.g., AmEx Rewards and Beyoncé, Eastern Bank and the Red Sox)
Example 2: Eastern Bank on Facebook
Eastern Bank set up a great Facebook fan page, aligning the bank with the Boston Red Sox. In August 2011, the bank announced their “Grand Slam Sweepstakes” on Facebook. To enter, participants are required to first “Like” Eastern Bank on Facebook, then enter basic information to win. As of August 31st they have over 7,100 Facebook “Likes”, a large number given the size of the bank and the short timeframe of the sponsorship.
3. Customer service – opportunities in social media
Bank of America (@BofA_Help) and Wells Fargo (@Ask_WellsFargo) are just two of the many banks using Twitter to help customers by providing quick responses to questions about their accounts, online banking, and more. Many credit unions are tweeting as well, including information about special rates, loans, and other information for customers.
Example 3: Bank of America manages customer service issues from Twitter
Bank of America monitors its Twitter platform and responds to customer complaints, offering solutions for service breaks:
Customer: @BofA_Help you guys won’t let me CLOSE this account!! I had a cashier’s check deposited Monday. I STILL can’t get my money. Lmao
BofA_Help: @[customer] I work for Bank of America. What happened? Anything I can do to help?
Driving business value with social media
Social media is quickly evolving past the novel and into mainstream usage for financial services institutions.
To align social media efforts with key business objectives, banks should conduct social media benchmarking to define key performance indicators that can guide a strategic approach to the channel. Not only will this kind of strategic engagement provide a wealth of insightful consumer data, it could help improve the customer experience, strengthen loyalty, and attract new business.
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By Gavin James on October 5th, 2011
When customers have a bad experience, they’re often more connected to how they FEEL about it, than the issue itself. That’s why you need to sharpen your focus on how people react to your business. Timely and effective communications can help you manage negative sentiment, rebuild trust, and promote loyalty.
If customers voice disgruntled opinions in public, the ripple-effect of social media could quickly turn the tide against your company –especially in financial services where consumer confidence is running low. Listen closely to what customers are saying about your business, both in direct feedback and across social networks —from key issues to trends in sentiment—so you can respond quickly to customer concerns, and tailor your communications to turn negative perceptions into positive customer experiences.
To effectively manage negative customer feedback, we recommend a three-tiered strategy:
- Consider the risks and missed opportunities of not responding to customers.
- Prioritize negative feedback to focus your communications appropriately.
- Transform negative situations into positive engagement.
Consider the risks & missed opportunities of not responding to customers.
Social media now wields a strong influence over public perceptions of customer experience and brands. Whether it’s a few complaints or a sweeping trend of concern, when negative sentiment hits the airwaves, it introduces both risks and opportunities for a business. If you’re wondering whether to respond, consider this: for customers, zero response looks like zero concern, and that can be costly for your company.
Let’s look at a few examples in which banks remained silent amid serious customer experience issues. Their lack of communication fueled a rising tide of negative sentiment that could’ve been avoided:
- Managing an emotionally-charged event – When Chase Bank erroneously had an innocent customer jailed for suspected check fraud, the bank merely issued a brief statement about changing their policies. Reports noted the man received no apology and lost his job due to missing work while in jail, and across social media the public seemed to react more strongly to those sentimental facts than to the banking event itself. If Chase had offered reassuring messaging before the issue spun out of control, they might have reversed negative perceptions of being insensitive and avoiding unaccountability.
- Managing broad-scale concerns – Amid the mortgage crisis, lenders such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and others were caught in the controversy over “robo” signing documents to expedite foreclosures. This practice left millions of customers and potential homebuyers confused and angry, yet the banks avoided communication about it, which has bred a public sentiment that banks are ignoring their concerns. By reaching out with supportive communications, lenders could demonstrate they’re paying attention to how customers feel, which goes a long way toward winning back their trust.
- Managing corporate strategy for negative feedback - Some financial institutions in the U.S. and overseas have taken an aggressive approach to managing negative customer feedback that’s coming back to haunt them. As an example, Commonwealth Bank in Australia damaged their own reputation when word leaked out that they ordered employees to remove negative reviews they found online or risk getting fired. It’s ironic when you consider reports like the 2011 Retail Consumer Report, which found that addressing negative feedback often works in a company’s favor: of customers who received a response after posting negative feedback, 33% replied with a positive review, and 34% deleted the original negative review.
Prioritize negative feedback to focus your communications appropriately.
- Get in the game to reduce the risk of negative perceptions.
Even if regulatory issues make your company leery of social media, it’s becoming more risky not to have a readily-available, reassuring presence online because your customers expect you to be there. As customers often voice concerns online, you may receive double the negative feedback if you don’t respond. Even a few thoughtful communications can show customers you’re listening and ready to help, and that’s a good start.
- First, fix what’s broken.
When you see serious complaints, engage those customers quickly. Listen to their concerns, admit any mistakes, and be clear about how you’ll improve their experience. For good measure, reach out again down the road to make sure they’re happy. By giving customers prompt, personal attention, they may express their appreciation with a positive review, which can improve the perception about your brand to hundreds of other customers.
- Don’t randomize, prioritize.
In dealing with negative sentiment, don’t try to respond to everything. Focus on helping customers with legitimate concerns to create the greatest positive impact. To prioritize negative feedback, it helps to understand the severity of key issues and customer sentiment across multiple channels, but that can be daunting. A great way to accelerate these efforts is using social media analytics, which allows communication teams to tap into insights that make it easier to prioritize how and when to respond to customers.
Transform negative situations into positive engagement.
- Strengthen community with customers.
In responding to negative feedback, let customers drive the conversation. Listen to what would please them and share solutions that may benefit other customers as well. Engaging their ideas can help build a sense of community with your company, make you appear open and approachable, and inspire others to join the conversation.
- Enhance perceptions of customer service.
Take advantage of negative feedback to spark innovative ways to communicate with your customers. Think beyond a simple apology or refund to what customers will not expect; what might delight them – perhaps a bonus gift or new benefit. By going the extra mile, you may win the customer’s loyalty and motivate them to praise your brand to others.
- Identify brand advocates to rally support.
Even when negative sentiment looms in social media, you can often find loyal customers who will defend your brand. Engage them directly to express appreciation, learn what they like about your company and how you might delight them. Your personal attention might motivate more business and prompt them to help influence positive sentiment online.
Think of negative customer feedback as part of doing business, and use it to innovate your communications. To reach both individuals and the public at large, social media is a powerful channel to quickly address key concerns, clarify misconceptions, and offer reassurance. Showing customers you’re listening and that you care about how they feel can help transform negative sentiment into a winning customer experience.
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