Click. Connect. Communicate.

TMG's Jeff Russell on the Future of Payments - The CU Water Cooler

Jeff Russell from TMG Financial Services gave a great talk at the Water Cooler Symposium about the future of payments. Where are the technologies that have everyone talking, like NFC and PFM, and where are those technologies going? What is the threat level from outside players, like Google and Apple? Jeff has some sharp insight, and you can watch it in the video below or over on the CU Water Cooler website. 

 

2011 CUWCS - Jeff Russell from Tim McAlpine on Vimeo.

A model of the iPhone 4 rendered entirely with style sheets

by Jimmy Marks

Pulled in this interesting link from our Twitter feed - it's an iPhone rendered in pure CSS3. What is CSS3, you ask? It's the next iteration of style sheets that focuses on high functionality without a lot of extra code or data-guzzling plug-ins. It's not a "working" iPhone, it's merely a simulacrum, but it is very neat.

So, why should you care? Because what used to take a lot of heavy Flash animation and lots and lots of time will now be easily rendered with simple styles. Imagine creating new applications for your website that would interact not only with a user's mouse, but with their fingertips as well. Many browsers are already showing everything CSS3 can do and even some of the older ones are updating and upgrading to bring everyone in on the fun.

A treat for the senses that actually informs? That's every Internet user's dream. Things like this are showing us just how far we can go.

QR Codes: One Hot Mobile Marketing Application

Maybe you've seen them around – in local stores or magazine ads, on billboards or high-end direct-mail pieces – and not given them a second thought. Well, maybe you should. They're quickly becoming one hot way to connect direct marketing and mobile marketing in the real world.

Those boxes and patterns are called "Quick Response Codes," QR Codes for short, and they are one of the hottest mobile applications in the marketing world today. They're not the same as UPC labels that you see on products with lines and numbers. Instead, those little black-and-white boxes are two-dimensional, matrix bar codes that can hold unique data for websites, personal URLs (PURLS), virtual contact cards, phone numbers or instructions for mobile devices to follow. Check out the QR Code on our own site.  

The use of smartphones has exploded for both business and personal use, leaving marketers with a keen interest in how to best use this technology to reach their customers. While more and more mobile users say they're willing to accept mobile marketing messages on their phones, marketers remain cautious ... and with good reason. Privacy issues and pushing information to mobile users without permission can create more issues than sending unwanted email. Add to that the fact that some consumers still pay for incoming text messages in their mobile plans, and you might get more complaints than business in the first wave of your mobile marketing efforts.

So why use them? QR Codes take advantage of smartphone technology to bridge direct marketing (paper and email) to mobile devices. They let consumers decide when to make the connection on a mobile device to easily review the information you've put in front of them. That bridge is helping to make direct marketing more powerful than ever.

How do QR Codes Work?
Using a QR Code is simple with a smartphone and any number of free QR Code reader apps. For example, my iPhone uses one called the AT&T Code Scanner. A quick scan of the QR Code on a direct-mail piece or email with a smartphone can take the consumer right to online content without typing a web address. By using advanced QR Code systems, all sorts of variable information can be stored. QR Codes' online interactions can be tracked, and their ROI can be calculated easily. More importantly, they provide an immediate-response mechanism that catches consumers at the very moment of interest--once consumers are intrigued.

Just as there are free QR Code readers, there are also free QR Code generators. Google has a decent basic QR Code generator if you'd like to try creating some yourself. Using a more advanced QR Code system lets you store all sorts of variable information to enhance the online experience even further. For example, DigitalMailer has developed a QR Code generator that creates QR Codes to automatically complete part of a secure online form using information off the initial scan. That saves the consumer time in the enrollment/purchase process. Embedded household or unique ID numbers also can be used to track back to real accounts off the tracking reports.

The "Too Cool" Factor
Be careful, though. QR Codes are addictive, and the mystery of what is hidden in that black-and-white square is overwhelming. I guarantee that once you start looking for QR Codes, you'll find them and automatically scan them just to see what they're being used for. Recently, I ran into a QR Code for a new shopping center in Charlotte, N.C. When scanned, it took you to a microsite that gave out mobile coupons for every store in that shopping center. No more dragging around coupons from the Sunday paper!

And what's the one thing almost every adult and teenager in America carries? It's a mobile phone. And QR Codes let consumers take advantage of their new smartphone technology to do things other devices can't. What better way to get your value proposition to a young audience than through a cool, new app? It's a great opportunity to gain their attention, so you can tell them about your financial institution.

The Sky's the Limit on QR Code Uses
Scan a QR code with your smartphone and any number of things can happen on your mobile phone. It can take you to directly to a website, store a contact card in your phone, fill out a secure online form, display text, or even open another application. Imagine a preapproved direct-mail piece with a personalized QR Code on it that, when scanned, automatically dials the phone number of your personal banker for that loan you were preapproved for! It's happening as we speak.

If one of your long-term e-strategies is to find ways to engage and communicate with younger or tech-savvy consumers, QR Codes might be your answer. Why bore them with static print marketing when you can turn the encounter into an interactive experience? Or consider providing your financial education for Gen Y through the unique QR Code delivery channel and those mobile devices they have in their hands 24/7.

Watch Out: The Same Rules Apply 
The use of QR Codes in the United States is in its infancy but rapidly growing as marketers find ways to work them into their campaigns and test the waters. Everyone's first thought is to send the same QR Code message to everyone you are targeting ... but don't. The unique features of a QR Code and a mobile device allow for personalization and for microsites that help move your marketing toward that elusive one-to-one marketing goal we're all chasing. Plan ways to use the combination on a personal interactive level, and keep these points in mind when using QR Codes for your financial institution:

1. Explain it. Not everyone is going to know what a QR Code is or how to use it ("Scan this" always seems to work for me).
2. Give a good reason to scan the QR Code, and get your customers looking for them. Use methods such as treasure hunts, coupons, special offers, etc.
3. Use your existing web tools and microsites to capitalize on the contact and the experience for the customer.
4. Don't use QR Codes to send everyone to your home page. Bad move.
5. Remember, QR Codes tap into the instant, impulsive responses. Use them for products and services that can be delivered right now.

To sum up, QR Codes are a fantastic, inexpensive way to connect the direct-mail world to the fast-paced mobile world with a click of a button. After you see all the examples out there, you'll start imagining how fast QR Codes can connect your customers to information and delivery channels and drive growth for your organization. Along with other interactive technologies, such as PURLs, SMS texting and email, QR Codes are helping make the new generation of direct mail more powerful than ever. They're definitely worth a look, and your customers will be using them whether you do or not.

QR Code Call to Action
Join the QR Code Treasure Hunt and start looking for QR Codes in the wild. Then, visit our blog to report your where you found QR Codes and what they did (or didn't) do. You'll also be able to see reports from others across the country. Here's the QR Code Hunting site.

DigitalMailer can integrate dynamically generated QR Codes in our Automatic Relationship Builder Email System to drive customers to personalized web pages and help grow your business. DigitalMailer is offering FREE "Brown Bag Session" webinars to educate people about QR codes and mobile marketing. To register, or for more information, visit digitalmailer.com/qrcodes.htmlor call (866) 994-4900 ext. 115. 

 

"You've Got Cake!" A Tribute to AOL and its 25th Birthday

by Jimmy Marks

It was a phrase so popular, it became a movie title. A friendly little cheer from a friendly-sounding guy that let you know...

"You've got mail!"

AOL turned 25 this week, and I, for one, am a little nostalgic over it. When the "dot-com bubble" burst in 2000, it set an unhealthy precedent for tech and online service companies. Here today, gone later today - don't bother with tomorrow! 

When a web company turns 25, it's pretty remarkable. AOL (or "America Online", for those of who've forgotten) started in 1985 providing services via the Commodore 64. As time progressed, AOL helped shape the face of Web 1.0 and helped young dreamers get their feet wet in the Internet space. 

How you ask? 

1) Easy-to-understand interface - AOL wasn't the fastest, nor the most stable, browsing platform. But for dial-up service, it was still pretty handy. What's more, it was easy for a skeptical American public to comprehend. Remember how every commercial was "go to www.example.com, AOL keyword: Example"? Doesn't get much easier than one-word access to websites. It was bright, colorful, and almost idiot proof. 

2) 1,000,000 hours free! - We all got them, those colorful floppy disks (and eventually CD-ROMs) with hours and hours worth of AOL access for free. It set the gold standard for "trial use software", where you get x number of hours with access to a credit card. If you go over, you're paying for it. If you don't, no harm done...but you WILL be getting more of those CDs.

3) Instant Messenger - private chat sessions with your friends for free? Profile pages that you could customize as much as you wanted? Group chats? Sounds like a lot of Web 2.0 web apps I hear about these days. Instant messenger was free to download, and opened up folks to chatting all over the world. Now, there's chat on gmail, Facebook, and one might even argue it's an early father of Twitter. 

AOL is seeing some gray days (spinning off from Time Warner after that much-talked-about merger, re-branding, and when's the last time you got one of those disks in the mail?), but it was still where most Americans got their concept of how the Internet was supposed to work, what it was supposed to cost, and what to expect when you got online. If you ask me, I say they did a fine job of laying the foundations for where we are, and where we're going. 

Happy birthday, AOL. Keep on keepin' on. 

Social Finance - Is It Working?

by Jimmy Marks

Look at your watch. Let eight seconds go by. Boom - another social media consultant has just appeared and has come up with an article about how much impact social media has on people's finances. 

It's getting a little crazy. It seems like every time we turn around, we get one more guy saying that users of X social media site are Y% more likely to put their money in your credit union than any other human being alive. Whoops, another eight seconds went by, that's another guy yelling about how all those Facebook fans you have are the same as alternative capital!

Let's get serious for just a second. We've been talking social media for the last two posts (if you haven't read them, go do it). Come to think of it, we've been talking about social media for the last two YEARS. But we've never really taken the time to look at the impact "social finance" and whether or not there were numbers and trends you could count on when it comes to social media and online finance. 

America (Banking) Online

Louis Hernandez at Open Solutions wrote an article (It Takes a (Global) Village: How to Use Social Media - CUJournal, 4/19/10) about social media. Some interesting facts about deposit balances and social network users (most of which, it seems, were culled from a report by Raddon Financial Group): 

• MySpace users have the lowest amounts on average, with $11,891. 
• LinkedIn users has the most with $29,794
• Twitter users had $20,562 on average
• The average Facebook user has $19,339, but daily Facebook users average about $16,586. 

I found these numbers surprisingly high, given that we only started seeing a resurgence in savings in the past year-and-a-half or so. 

I differed to Ron (Daly, my boss), who said "Ask what the average amount is among people who want nothing to do with this stuff." He's betting it's going to be a lot more. Anybody got numbers, comment on this article and let us know. 

Other interesting numbers regarding getting financial advice via social:

• Only two percent of consumers have interacted with their FI while visiting a social networking site.
• Three percent would be interested in taking advice from a blog or SM site. 
• Only four percent said they had solicited advice about finance from a social media site. 

Two, three, and four percent? That's terrible. Is it because there are few FIs online and they're doing a bad job of social media, or is it that people aren't interested in "friending" B of A or their chief banking institution? (Yeah, B of A's Twitter has 7,000 followers, give or take, but I'm doubting all their followers are customers with issues, and with 53 million customers, you're looking at <.013% of customers being helped by their Twitter account.)

Some fresh perspective from Jeffry Pilcher's Financial Brand blog, which ran a "Datahead" article about online banking and social finance (his data's from Forbes, Mintel and ComScore to be clear): 

• 76% of online banking users have visited a branch in the past two months, while 68% have visited an ATM and 37% have called their call center. Mr. Hernandez's article says there's been a drop-off in branch visits even between '08 and '09, but 76% is still plenty high. 
• 75% of members/customers don't realize their bank/CU has online banking. Half of those that DO realize there's online banking USE online banking. That's 12.5% of consumers that are actively using OLB on average. But 87% of those are accessing OLB more than once per week.
• Half of all online banking users have mobile internet on their phone and less than half of those access their bank's services online from said phone - so, on average, about 23% of consumers are accessing their bank's site via mobile. 
• 65% of members wanted to get emails about their accounts(!) while only 8% wanted account updates via social media. 

On this evidence, I'm willing to make a few guesses about where social media fits in the big picture. 

1) Social media is good for ad hoc feedback, event coordination and notification, casual chat and (maybe) some selling. But most folks don't want advice from their social networks. And it's not specifically the networks, it's the people using said network. 

Think about it - do you want to talk about your Roth IRA or your Mortgage with the person who keeps sending you "Which Twilight Character Are YOU!?!?!?11?!" Quiz on Facebook? No, you don't. At least, I HOPE you don't. You trust a few people in this world to tell you what you should do with money, and that conversation doesn't have to happen in front of an audience of hundreds.

According to this article from eMarketer Daily, the number of people using social media is going to be growing to about 66% by 2014. Getting a foot in the door now is smart, given that the trend is increasing and the risk is relatively low, but expecting it to be "the fix" for your institution is unrealistic. People don't start a financial relationship with some bank or CU that they found on Facebook. They go find their bank on Facebook because they already have a relationship with them. 

People are loyal to a dependable product first, its associated brand second. Slap a member or customer with $200 worth of fees and all the social media in the world won't make a difference - they'll feel cheated and complain, and might even leave. Doesn't matter if they brought it on themselves -they're going to say it's your fault.

2) OLB, email and websites all need to be better. There's a reason you started offering online bill pay/banking, eStatements, eLerts and so on. It's because the more people are leaning on your online channel, the less they have to come all the way to the branch to deal with their money issues. Little things like transferring money between accounts and making payments are time sucks for a branch - let people work it out from home. 

Emails, eStatements and online notices are popular (it's why we exist), but we still have people who are on the fence about communicating with members via email. Why? What's stopping you? You don't have to put a ton of personal info into the thing and you aren't spamming anyone. "We might get phished," you say? Yeah, you might. But if you're actively engaging members with emails and getting them accustomed to what an email from you looks like, you're training them about what the real messages look like versus a fake one. Come on, people, it's 2010. "I'm scared of email" stopped being a valid excuse in 1998. Get in there.

If your OLB, emails and websites aren't up to snuff, you're missing out. This is Web 1.0 stuff, and 2.0 is about to hit the bricks in favor of Web 3.0 (does that blow your mind, because it should). You're going to see the big banks and their big websites increase functionality in the next few years, and as Robbie Wright of CU Innovators recently said: 

I will immediately think poorly of a product if they have a crappy looking website. crappy site=crappy product

less than a minute ago via CoTweetRobbie Wright

Let's just cut to the chase: you have a budget of $1 million. You can spend it on your websites and online banking, or on your social media initiatives. You can only spend it these two ways, and you can split it any way you choose. What are you going to spend it on, knowing what you know now? 

Talk to me, people.

How a "Like Button" Could Make a Difference For Your Website

by Jimmy Marks

Remember those notes you used to send to people in grade school with three check boxes and the text "Do you like me? Check one: Yes, No, Maybe"? You, a shy little kid, send your classroom sweetheart a little note to see if they liked you. Then maybe later you held hands on the playground. It was social media, version 0.2. 

Fast forward twenty-some years (or more, in some cases) to now. In case you missed the past six years, social media - and specifically, Facebook - has made those little paper notes a big online enterprise. 

The sweet little "do you like me?" note has been replaced by a very simple button that simply says "like" (or "recommend", in certain cases) with a thumbs-up. The three checkboxes for "yes/no/maybe" aren't really an option - if you like something, you like it, and click the "like" button shares the fact that you do with your friends and your network. If you don't like it, you don't click it. Silence, in that case, speaks volumes.

The "like button" for Facebook began as "Become a Fan", a button that drew links between a Facebook user and a product page on the site. For example, if Coca-Cola had a Facebook fan page (it does), I could click "Become a Fan" and on my profile page, it would say: 

"Jimmy has become a fan of Coca-Cola."

Now, with the like button, a fan page is no longer necessary. I can put a like button on all our product pages and Facebook users can share that page via Facebook without having to find it on Facebook. So why does this matter to a business? 

The like button launched last month and is now prominent on 50,000 websites across the Internet, according to CNN...and growing, no doubt. Many have raised questions about how the like button and the data that comes from clicking it is going to change the web. Privacy issues abound, specifically when it comes to "cross talk" between Facebook and other sites you use. This PC World article spells out an example - you use the like button to tell folks about a band you like, then music services like Pandora will start changing the music they play for you based on those likes. For most folks who have Facebook profiles, it's a grievance hearing about every person's every like. For people and businesses who are looking to reach specific groups and sell to them in a specific way, this little button is something you should definitely like. 

First, there's the concept of free advertising. We've been talking for years to the business world about how the Internet is changing the game and this is the best example of that. Word-of-mouth is still your best bet for driving growth and encouraging cross-sales (see our DMI Blog post on NetPromoter Scores). How can you turn down 5,000 people liking you and sharing your content on the most popular site on the Internet? 

Second, there's the mountain of available data that people are pouring out day after day. When you see who likes your business or product, you also see everything ELSE they like. In a "like-pool" of 500 people, 300 like iPods and iPads. Why not make that the giveaway for your eStatement enrollment campaign? Let's say 80% of them are over the age of thirty. Why bother hitting them with "off to college" campaigns and student lending materials? Sell to their interests. Stop blasting, start targeting. 

Finally, there's the tradeoff of effort to payoff. Setting up a like button on your site (or sites) takes very little effort and can end up paying off if you develop a strong Facebook following out of it. We've already been over how to get going with "share" buttons, and the minimal effort necessary to get started. If you're a b-to-c, you officially have no excuse NOT to get going with social media sharing/liking links and buttons. It takes very little time and can have a big impact on your web initiatives. Go do it.

Those little notes from grade school have changed, but the feeling's still there. It's always good to know someone likes you, and it's always good to have proof of it. Maybe it's time you find out how willing people are to spread the word about your business - and time to make adjustments based on the results. 

Your comments are always welcome. 

Feedback Loops - Part of a Balanced Budget

by Ron Daly 

No, it's not a sugary breakfast cereal - a feedback loop has to do with information and systems. A real life example: 

1. We got a Wii® Fit™ for our home
2. We got on and tested our balance and posture
3. We went through a series of crazy games involving hula-hoops and yoga poses
4. We re-tested our posture to see how it had improved

But there's a fifth step, one that happens from the moment we turn the game on until the moment we quit and go get a sandwich - it's self-correction. 

As you play, your character is being challenged to walk a tight rope, dance, and stand very still. The game gives you feedback about your posture and stance, evaluating your performance and telling you when you do whatever you're doing the wrong way. You try to get better, little by little, as you move through levels and exercises. Steven Levy of Wired has an article about being beaten down by these workout video games. His reason? He was TOO focused on his workout, as opposed to usual gym distractions. 

An article from Harvard Business Review, "The Cost of Being Omniscient", talks about feedback loops in business and how they change the behavior of a buyer/user. From their article:

Anyone who doubts the power of feedback to influence action hasn't stepped on a scale before dinner. Customers under pay-as-you-drive plans almost invariably start using their cars less and buckling up more. Enel, an electrical utility in Italy, saw the same effect. After it installed "smart meters" in homes, its newly aware customers collectively spent 500 million euros less per year on electricity.

We have come to a point where "Information Age" doesn't quite describe where we are as a society. I think "Feedback Age" is a better fit. The more social the Internet gets,  If you're interested in bettering yourself, there's info everywhere on how to get it done. Your iPod isn't just a music player, it's a pedometer and a calorie counter. Your car is telling you when you're not driving safely. Your house tells you to shut off your lights. As a result, you jog faster, you drive better, you live greener. Why? 

Social Media: Getting Started

by Jimmy Marks

Many companies worry about their involvement with social media (or lack thereof). We've talked about social media before, but we've never really given a list of "getting started" instructions. Hopefully, this will help your business get its feet wet. 

STEP 1: Sign up, Get going

No more of this "will we, won't we?" business. Get moving! Start turning out those blog posts, recording messages from the CEO to upload to YouTube, twittering, facebooking, emailing...whatever fits your member's tastes. Don't know what members are interested in? Hit them with a quick survey to sharpen your focus. 

More importantly, make this new communication channel someone's job. Make them track results and feedback. Stay on top of it. 

Best Practice - Set a bar and meet it. What do you WANT out of Social Media? Before you get going with anything, read this from thefinancialbrand.com about ROI and social media. 

STEP 2: Learn to Share

If you are running a blog or sending out a monthly email newsletter, you can make individual stories or pages shareable via the major social networks. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and most other networks provide links that, when set up properly, allow readers to share your content via their own account. Most blogging services provide a widget for sharing this information around. If you are a DigitalMailer ARB user, we can get you set up with the proper links and icons for sharing. 

You've probably seen buttons such as these before. When readers/members/users click these buttons, they're sharing your content and information with other people. Encourage them! 

Best Practice - Worried you don't have enough followers after a week? Don't. Building out this new way of talking to members and customers can take time. Read the CU Soapbox article "Follow-and-Friend Freeze Out" to give yourself and your organization a realistic idea of a "healthy" follower count.

STEP 3: Refine and Realign

Don't get comfy, social media trends and usage are changing day to day. Know which methods and messages are working and which aren't. Keep an eye on your stats and your referrals and make note of which method/network is giving you the best response.

Best Practice - Don't just talk, listen. If you have followers or friends eager to speak with you, address them and meet the need. You'll find that you can help users and members in a way that's simple, light and smart. You may also pick up new members and customers as a result. 

Some final food for thought:

Take a look at this video on "socialnomics". VERY thought provoking. 

Who's Buyin', Who's Lyin', Who's Dyin'?

by Ron Daly 

After ten years providing email delivery and online services, I have a little experience with what draws people to open an email or visit a website. Where that experience shifts is when it comes to social media and referrals. Over the past year or so, there's been plenty to read about whether or not social media is "good" for your business. Can you run/boost a business using social media? 

Bob Serling of Power 8 Marketing seems to think it's possible, but it requires a stronger knowledge of your audience. From his blog post:

There are a lot of ways to identify people who are actual buyers, but it takes a lot more leg work, and usually more money to do this properly. That’s why the promise of the next “free magic bullet” traffic system is bound to fail too. Because there just isn’t any free and easy way to generate qualified leads in your sleep. If there was, we’d all have a different color Ferrari for each day of the week.

I think Bob's point is well spoken - just because you're blogging, tweeting, facebooking, youtubing, etc. doesn't mean you're going to burn up the Internet with site traffic and new visitors. And even if you do draw a million people to your business' website, how many are in market and qualified? It's a tough nut to crack for b-to-c companies, but for b-to-b it's a lot harder. Fewer people are involved in a b-to-c buying proposition and you can appeal to people on a gratification level that's not quite the same in b-to-b. But no matter who you're selling to, getting them to buy online in a single visit is a rarity. 

Where is "The Fold"?

by Greg Crandell

Back when newspapers were as simple as "Really Simple" syndication got, being "above the fold" or "below the fold" was something that mattered to editors and advertisers. Being above the fold means better visibility and a greater likelihood of response and recognition. While fewer folks are reading papers these days, ads and articles that are above the fold are still regarded as more important and more desirable. 

This concept has translated to web design to some degree. It's led most folks who design websites to post all the "good content" just under the site header, or anywhere within the bounds of the "first scroll". More and more these days, web designers and usability experts are questioning whether or not "the fold" exists on the web. 

This article from Clockwork Active Media Systems starts shooting some holes in the conventional wisdom. Better information architecture, says the article, is much more important than where things are relative to the fold. Some resources from the article that might be helpful to your design team/web managers: 

• http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ - this link will show you browser sizes and percentages, indicating how many people have their browser windows open to a specific size. How many people, on average, are seeing your actionable content? Do they have any way to contact you? Do they see content worth seeing within a specific size range? Type in your own URL at the top to use the overlay.
• http://www.thereisnopagefold.com/ - Get used to websites such as these - with URLs being easier to register these days, "single serving" websites like this will become more prevalent. Have only ONE thing to say? You need a single serving site, just like this one. If this is a little technologically advanced for you, let me give you a hint: scroll down. The folks behind the "There is no page fold" movement want to get away from this above/below fold mindset. If users see anything interesting on your website, they'll scroll; if they don't, they'll bolt. Simple, right? 

I'm not an expert on where people look/how they behave online, but I will say that I'm more inclined to read through a page that's linked to me. If I've got a few minutes and I need to find something on a given website, I'll browse around and hunt for the information I want. Going back to the design argument, if something is clearly defined or demonstrated on a website, scrolling to find it won't bother you. Better to have information that's easy to understand than information that's easy to find, but better still to have both.