Will someone please answer the phone?

Wow I can actually remember the rotary dial phones as a kid. That was a long time ago. I also recall Dick Tracy comics where his phone was on his wrist. What’s old is new again I guess is the phrase…

My point to this is I represent the Baby-Boomer generation. I recently read that there are still 72 million of my demographic group left which happens to be just about the same number as Millennial demographic, which I count as Gen X, Y and rest of your consumers.

I often wonder in today’s Marketing Strategies how do we account for the differences in messaging to multiple generations? I want to focus on communications. Many of us still enjoy a nice chat via telephone. However, occasionally when I call my children but they do not answer the phone, yet if I text them they reply right away. Based on that premise my assumption is they are in control of their communication styles. As financial institutions my belief is somewhere along the way we may have underestimated our communication strategies.

Some years back there was a rush to install new telecommunications systems in today’s businesses, including Credit Unions. We sought efficiency for our staff so systems were designed to build in prompts directing callers to certain extensions or departments for the ease of providing efficient customer service. (I know I could have use member service, but I have not found anyone yet who describes the people coming into your facilities to conduct their “credit unioning,” it’s still called “banking.”

Since I am assuming people of all ages may read this blog… I would like to ask you to perform a simple test. Some time when you and some senior staff are out to lunch or out of the office please call your Credit Union’s main telephone number. Once the line is answered please start your stopwatch. See who can have the quickest time reaching someone, anyone who is alive and working? Surely the prompt will ask to Press 1 or 2 or however many prompts they have scripted until you reach a department or a staff team member. (Just for fun if you are having a long lunch you can try this same test on your web site with a tablet) but easy on the spices since the results have been known to create heartburn.

If by now you think these as the ramblings of an old dude who have been in the CU system too long (4 decades), I am suggesting you are missing the opportunity to communicate with many of your members. While we know different generations have their personal preferences as to how they receive and reply to offers and we know the youthful folks prefer quick easy and definitely mobile designed products and service. This opens up to the wide world of mobility and social media strategies. We can certainly save that for a separate discussion topic on another day.

Another key issue is time itself. How often have you said or written, “My how time flies?” The days do seem shorter and often there just is not enough time to get your work done let alone those pesky details of managing your personal life including obtaining a mortgage. Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, and I am sure many of you were waiting for me to get to that point.

The mortgage lending markets don’t offer Credit Unions and their respective CUSOs many benefits or advantages in my opinion. One of the facts validated over and over is a vast majority of Credit Union members (of all ages) believe Credit Unions to be more trustworthy than our competitors. So why is it, some CUs make it almost impossible for a consumer to find someone to speak to? I contact many of our CU member’s offices by phone as obviously a nonmember. I can barely get any human being on the phone at all. They seem to want to know first if I am a member so they can quickly transfer the call to someone else, who likely is unavailable and then we are into Voice Messaging. Perhaps, one the best and worst product developments in the last quarter century people can exchange voice mail for days prior to talking personally.

Customer Service is our paramount strength in the marketplace. I suggest the policies; procedures and telephony undergo thoroughly examination and evaluation for the number of last calls or dropped calls. I think this is revenue that will never occur and I am fearful in today’s world if this happens more than once, you lose one and maybe more possible member relationships for the future. I have often referred to the quote “it takes five years to establish a customer relationship and five minutes to lose it.

Certainly this issue is magnified now in mortgage lending since purchase money loans rule and involves many more people in the transaction. I know many CUs still resist talking directly to Realtors, but if you want to close purchase money loans for your member borrowers maybe recheck that?  Nothing trumps your trustworthy position in the transaction over that of their Realtor. In many cases they have been spending a great deal of time rising around viewing homes with borrowers. If you want purchase money business, you better be competitive on more than just a rate and a few bucks less in fees.

If you have a comment please write to me. You can also call me since I am here most of the time and take great pride in answering my one phone and talking on it. I believe it to be a lost art!