Financial institution does great job with consumer follow-up

Mystery shops are an important element of the overall proprietary process involved with a deep-dive marketing audit as provided by On The Mark Strategies. As the creators of the financial institution marketing audit, On The Mark Strategies approaches mystery shops from a different angle than most credit unions consider.

For example, the main mystery shop focus when using On The Mark Strategies is not so much transactional accuracy as it is brand/cultural excellence. Yes, teller drawers must balance in order for a brand to succeed. However, succeeding in a mere transactional sense is not enough to develop and maintain a healthy and vibrant brand.

When partnering with credit union to provide an in-depth marketing audit, On The Mark Strategies conducts mystery shop analyses of both the partner financial institution and key competitors it identifies. During a recent marketing audit for a partner credit union in Illinois, we came across a competitor (in this case a regional community bank) that provided a remarkable experience.

We were greeted quickly upon entry by several friendly employees. Everyone visible was wearing smart-looking bank logo apparel and the wait time to visit with a customer service representative was minimal. This customer service representative did an outstanding job asking questions about specific financial lifestyle needs and was obviously well-versed in bank products and services. It was in the follow-up, however, that we were particularly impressed.

This bank customer service representative asked for our personal contact information for future follow-up. This has happened in the past (not often, but occasionally in the thousands of financial institution mystery shop experiences we have conducted) but with no actual follow-up.

However, this individual knocked the ball out of the park when it came to follow-up. Within a few days of returning from the mystery shop process of the marketing audit, we received an email from the customer service representative thanking us for visiting her bank and offering to schedule a time to visit if we had any additional questions about the bank and its products or services. The customer service representative made sure to include their contact information in the email.

Overall, it was terrific follow-up and is indicative of a financial institution employee that is not only doing a good job transactionally but also committed to living the brand with someone who wasn’t even an actual bank customer yet.

There’s plenty to learn from this example.

  • How well is your credit union doing when it comes to interacting with consumers that are just looking to learn more about your financial institution rather than signing up that day and/or conducting same-day transactions?
  • What is your follow-up plan like for contact with potential consumers?
  • Most compellingly, how well are your employees interacting with every single person that comes through your doors? In order for your credit union brand to succeed, you must look at every consumer as a mystery shopper.

For more information on marketing audits as provided by On The Mark Strategies please click here.

Mark Arnold

Mark Arnold

Mark Arnold is an acclaimed speaker, brand expert and strategic planner helping businesses such as credit unions and banks achieve their goals with strategic marketing insights and energized training. Mark ... Web: www.markarnold.com Details