| By Jim Bruene on May 8, 2007 6:57 PM | Comments (1) |
Twelve years ago I spoke at the very first for-profit conference on online banking. It was held in San Francisco and put on by IQPC. One of the handful of bankers taking the stage was the marketing director from a small Massachusetts-based bank, Salem Five Savings Bank.
In 1995, Salem Five was one of the first 100 banks in the world to launch a website and continued to pioneer website functions during the last century, even launching a dedicated direct bank <directbanking.com> which has now been rolled back into the parent.
One early innovation was a mortgage lead generation tool consisting of an interactive $100-off closing costs coupon. It was still in use several years later when we named it an Online Banking Report Best of the Web winner in 1997 (see circa 1997 screenshot above, and the Online Banking Report article archived here).
It was "interactive" because in order to print it, the customer was required to first enter their name and phone number into the on-screen coupon. It was a great promotional idea, especially for 1995. And I still remember receiving a phone call the Saturday morning after I tested the coupon from the cheery Boston-based loan agent, wondering if I was moving to their area and interested in a mortgage. To this day, one of the best follow-ups I've experienced to an online lead.
Mobile Banking Launch
In April, Salem Five took another pioneering step, becoming one of the first community banks pushing mobile banking (here). However, its mShift-powered service is a WAP solution, not likely to be widely adopted in its current form. Last week another mShift client, Cardinal Bank, launched a similar mobile offering (here).
The bank is making sure its customers know about it with a page-dominating banner in heavy rotation on its homepage. Note: Salem Five uses both "wireless" and "mobile" to describe the service.
Salem Five homepage (8 May 2007)
Salem Five mobile banking landing page
For more information on mobile banking see our full report at our sister publication, Online Banking Report (here).
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Jim, I wonder what would have happened to pioneer banks like Salem Five if they had waited for market research to tell them online banking was a lead-pipe cinch? I imagine they heard all sorts of naysaying from the consultocrats, just as they probably heard it about ATMs before that and are hearing it about mobile banking now. But in the end, inventors invent, leaders lead and customers get services they never knew they needed but now can't live without. My guess is that you will be talking about Salem Five in another ten years when they help pioneer something we can't even imagine now.