COLUMBUS, Ohio - Angie Hicks understands what it means to struggle with growth–in fact, it’s the kind of growth one might find featured on the Internet.
That would be appropriate. Hicks is co-founder of the well-known online sites known as Angie’s List, which began its life as a humble operation in Bexley, Ohio in the early 1990s with all of three members.
Today, Angie’s List has members in 120 cities across the U.S., providing them with ratings on local service companies, such as plumbers, home contractors, and now medical professionals. Angie’s List is unique among such providers in that it charges for participation.
“I remember coming back from a day of recruiting and telling my friend who was working with me that I signed two new members,” Hicks recalled. “He asked me how many that gave us in total–I said three!”
Hicks, speaking to the Ohio Credit Union System’s annual meeting, shared what it took for her company to develop its national presence, citing listening to members as the key.
“One of our guiding principles is staying in touch with our members, learning their needs, and then acting on them,” Hicks said. “I travel around the country inviting all of our members in the city I’m in to have coffee with me. I talk to them and find out what’s on their minds and how we can serve them better. It’s a great experience.”
Coffee Talks
The coffee talks helped Hicks learn that many of her members care for their parents’ homes as well as their own, and as such were interested in service provider performance in more than just their hometowns.
“If they live in Columbus and their parents live in Florida, they can now use Angie’s List to learn about service providers in their parents’ city,” Hicks said.
Hicks reminded that even complaints are opportunities, urging CUs to make adjustments if the issue is reasonable.
“The companies on our list that receive the highest ratings typically are those that take customer feedback, including complaints, and do something about it,” she said.
While making sure your business maintains a “human touch” is important to growth, Hicks believes Angie’s List–and CUs–don’t have to do all of the work to reach out to new members. A proponent of social networking, Hicks says that tactic doesn’t always have to be web-based.
“Word of mouth is one of the biggest drivers of membership to Angie’s List,” Hicks said. “We reward members for referrals, giving them a $7 check and a bag of M&Ms. Believe it or not it’s the chocolate that stands out in their minds. There’s something about getting unexpected chocolate in the mail.”
Hicks recalls a new member joining her service and letting her know that the person who referred him to her “wants peanut M&Ms the next time.”
