ORLANDO, Fla. - A woman with a penchant for distracting antics has played a driving role in helping one credit union to grow.
In his case the woman is “Julie,” the online greeter on the website of Vancouver, B.C.-based Coast Capital Savings Credit Union. Wendy Lachance, manager of e-Business Development for Coast Capital, told Credit Union Journal’s Grow Show that Coast Capital has seen a 29% overall increase in visits to its website. For the $9-billion Coast Capital, those are no small number of hits, as it averages more than 900,000 visits each month, representing more than one-million transactions per month.
“That shows the volume going through CoastCapitalSavings.com. You have to maximize your web channel as your biggest branch,” Lachance said.
The live action character Julie who greets visitors to the site is highly entertaining and played by a Vancouver-area actress. The credit union has filmed “Julie” in some 350-plus skits for every product and service on which a visitor might request information, and she changes every week. On special days, such as April Fools, she has specific greetings for visitors.
“We learned very quickly that if she is just sitting there static, you’re not very likely to click,” said Lachance. Instead, she said visitors are engaged by Julie’s “quirky antics” and often irreverent tone.
Lachance said “Julie” has quadrupled industry average rates for website interaction by visitors.
“Julie tries to answer questions in a fun way,” Lachance explained. “She’s an excellent reflection of our helpful, friendly and humorous branding. She presents a warm persona. Our inspiration for Julie was the result of our new branch design, aimed at presenting an open and inviting atmosphere. Integral to our new branches is the focus on a central greeter. We thought, ‘How can we take that atmosphere in a branch and translate that into our website?’ ”
Coast Capital spent approximately $110,000 in Julie-related development costs. Word of Julie’s success has apparently spread. Lachance said the credit union has seen versions of her at FutureShop, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank and a credit union in New Zealand.
