Orange County Trust: Try Harder Next Time
I just received an email from Orange County Trust, the local bank in this area, telling me about the "ease and convenience of Internet banking." For the record, I like Orange County Trust as a bank, but I am really disappointed with their online efforts. I have tried to register for their online banking service many times over the past few years, but have never experienced any success.
Here is the email:
The ability to view your accounts online is a powerful tool in
staying on top of your finances ANYTIME and ANYWHERE - check your
account balance, view up-to-date account history and more.
We invite you to login to our Web site and experience the ease and
convenience of Internet banking. If you have any questions about
your new Internet Banking service, feel free to call 845-341-5000
or email octc@frontiernet.net.
Orange County Trust Co
P O Box 790, Middletown, NY, 10940
845-341-5000
If you would like to discontinue receiving helpful reminders about
our online services, login to our web site, click the User Services
tab, and select "Marketing Preferences" under the User Preferences
section.
This is a perfect example of a company that does not "get" the web. The first major problem is that nowhere in the email is a mention of their website address - how do they expect me to register? Or more importantly, remove myself from their mailing list? All email correspondance of this nature should include a one click unsubscribe service.
And don't state the obvious; if your customers have an email address, they understand that their online banking account can be accessed anytime and anywhere. In fact, online banking should be a GIVEN for any bank these days, not advertised as a nifty service or extra perk.
From a marketing perspective, this email is terribly weak. The from address is simply octc@frontiernet.net; most likely, the email address assigned to OTC Co. the first day they signed up for internet access with Orange County's local ISP, Frontier Communications. If I hadn't attempted to register for an online account before, I wouldn't have even recognized the email address and marked it as spam. The message leaves so much to be desired... why not go into further detail about the features of the system, explain the steps involved in registering, and outline the benefits to online banking that a customer can't get any other way?
And lastly, a little design goes a long, long way. There is no corporate logo in this email, or photos of the branch, or even screenshots of this wonderful online banking system that would make my life much more convenient. A little more effort would achieve significantly better results.
Posted by joseph at April 7, 2005 08:33 PM
