Paul Say's in the middle of a phone conversation about his bank's social media marketing and consumer participation initiative, when another discussion immediately pops unto his screen, demonstrating both the power and immediacy of crowdsourcing in product development.
"I've just gotten a message from a consumer who said he's scanned one of our presentations onto his iPhone and the video played well," says Say, a marketing director at First Direct, HSBC's Leeds, UK-based digital banking subsidiary. "I've also gotten another message from a guy named 'dogs on wheels' who says the site is useful and interesting, but he doesn't have a smartphone. He says maybe I should join the 21st century. So we've got a bit of personality going on with the users."
Starting Monday, First Direct began posting its product development updates on an open forum called a "lab" that will allow present and perspective customers to suggest changes to the bank's digital strategy.
So far, the bank's soliciting feedback on a pending website redesign, a mortgage comparison smartphone app and the introduction of QR, or "quick response" codes installed on payment cards or other devices. These codes can can accessed and read by barcode readers, and include text, URL, or other data which can be used to distribute special offers to mobile channels.
The conversations in the lab will be analyzed for trends, melded with other research and developed, and eventually made part of what's added to the web redesign, QR codes, or other initiatives.
"If the customers say they like QR codes, we may put them in the back of our credit cards," Say observes, adding that users can access the lab through Facebook, Twitter and a number of other social media sites. The lab was developed through a mix of internal IT development and engagement with local marketing consultants in the UK. "We see the lab as helping customers shape what we are doing."
There's no deadline for submitting feedback, but suggestions will be organized as part of an effort to bring the consumer's voice into product development cycles earlier than in traditional market research methods.
Much like USAA in the United States, First Direct — which launched as a phone-only bank in 1989 — doesn't have a substantial brick and mortar network and as such has been faster to adopt social media and other new digital products than other banks. In the UK, adoption of smart phone banking at established institutions has lagged the pace of the U.S. and other nations. The early adoption of remote access channels has worked well for First Direct, which regularly tops customer service polls in the U.K.
Among First Direct's more recent efforts have been "Live," an aggregation tool that tracks mentions of First Direct on other sites and corrals that information to improve its customer service. Another online forum, called "Talking Point," responds directly to queries.
The forward thinking strategy is also immersed in the bank's corporate culture. HSBC social media guru Mark Mullen will become First Direct's new CEO on September 1. Mullen previously served as head of marketing for First Direct, overseeing the unit's initial move into social media when it became one of the first financial institutions to develop a social media forum about three years ago. He then served as head of marketing for HSBC Bank Middle East from 2009 until this summer.
Mullen will replace Matt Colebrook, who is leaving the First Direct CEO post to become group head of contact centers for HSBC.
