Facebook-Banking (Teil III): Commonwealth Bank

Aus Sicht von Banken dreht sich indes derzeit vieles um die reine Unternehmenspräsenz auf Facebook. Ein bisschen Like-Kultur, nicht viel mehr, dazu das eine oder andere Gewinnspiel, so häufig noch das Motto.

Einige Institute vor allem im Ausland gehen etwas weiter. So wirbt etwa die allerdings in Sachen Social Media Policy früher schon einmal negativ aufgefallene australische Commonwealth Bank (Siehe mein früherer Beitrag: Commonwealth Bank: Social Media Policy, PR-Desaster und Erklärungsversuche) jetzt plötzlich im kreativen Umkehrschub mit dem zeitgemäßen Leitmotiv: „Erledigen Sie Ihr Online-Banking überall und überweisen Sie Geld direkt per Facebook-Kontakte an Freunde.“

Die dazu neu gestaltete Funktion lautet „Pay to Facebook“, eine App fürs Online-Banking, um direkte Überweisungen zu und von den in Facebook versammelten Freunden zu ermöglichen. „Social Media spielt eine immer wichtigere Rolle im Bankensystem und wird ein Schlüsselkanal sein, um mit dem Kunden zu kommunizieren und zu unteragieren“, betont Andrew Murrell, General Manager Digital & Social bei der Commonwealth Bank.

Mehr dazu im nun folgenden Interview, das zeigt, nur wenn eine Bank Social Media als erweiterte Philosophie in- und extern jenseits von Gewinnspielen einsetzt, dann bleibt der Begriff Social Business kein leeres Modewort. 

Social Banking 2.0: Commonwealth Bank seems to be a kind of new „idea bank“, how do you link the interest of the bank with those of the customers?

Andrew Murrel: The two are intrinsically linked.  Our philosophy is that the customer is at the centre of everything we do, that’s why we introduced our new brand campaign, focused on ‘CAN’ earlier this year.  CAN expresses the passion we have for helping our customers achieve their goals. It is the attitude we bring – through ideas, people and technology – to every customer interaction.

You are working on a „beta“ project together with Facebook, allowing the concrete interaction between Facebook, Commonwealth Bank and customers. What do you mean with it (functionalities, target, benefits, limits)?

Please see press release http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/news/media-releases/2012/120705-commbank-kaching-gives-australians-more-ways-to-bank-on-more-smartphones.aspx

Do you see it as a megatrend, that customers are looking for more interaction through social networks, or is it just a nice „add on“, without any allegiance to the core processes of a bank?

Social networks are increasingly becoming a platform for customer service. It is not an add on or a nice to have – brands need to embrace the next step of social which is not just about listening and observing, but interacting and providing a two way conversation with service.

Regarding data security and compliance, it looks very unprovable that banks will push a „virtual branch“ (view ASB Bank in New Zeeland), how can data security be guaranteed at all?

Commonwealth Bank has a 100% security guarantee on all online and mobile banking. We understand that people are looking for more convenient easy to bank – which online and mobile banking provides. While virtual branches on Facebook may not become the norm, you will likely see a lot of development in this space on banks corporate websites, eg with click to call and click to chat. For more information on security please vie here: http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/netbank/online-security/default.aspx

What is the future vision of Commonwealth Bank of Social Media in the Banking system? Or in other words: Do you see Social Media more as an additional marketing and information channel, or is there a new way of participation and integration towards a kind of „Engagement Banking“?

Social media will play and increasing role in the Banking system and will be a key channel for communicating and engaging with customers.  Customer experience with brands is increasingly being driven through content and social recommendation engines.  For many financial services products, over 80% of customer purchase journeys start with an online search and the impact of social results is growing.  For many people, particularly the younger generation – digital natives, social banking is a given for them hence the introduction of our Facebook banking app.  There are many opportunities from a service and engagement perspective too.  You can listen and participate in conversation with your customers.  We have seen an increasing appetite from our customers to have their service needs met via our corporate social channels.   Internally, we are also rolling out an enterprise social media platform for our staff to facilitate greater communication and collaboration.  It’s becoming less about social media and more about social business.

After the financial crisis clients are looking for a transparent and fair bank, how does Commonwealth Bank understand this delicate topic?

Commonwealth Bank has always taken a very open and transparent approach to dealing with its clients, and it’s through these attributes and a consistently prudent approach, that the Bank has fared so well through challenging economic times.

Interview: Lothar Lochmaier