Last week it was Asda, now First Direct has joined the openness bandwaggon and announced the launch of a website, featuring live comments, sourced via social media. This latest announcement follows the bank’s decision to feature negative as well as positive customer feedback in its advertising. Hopefully the use of software that edits out profanities will help the bank avoid the problems experienced by Skittles, when it tried something similar earlier this year.
Whilst this looks like a smart move to rebuild trust in the business, it is only part of the answer. If they truly want to be trusted, the bank needs to open up direct lines of communication between its employees and its customers. No one trusts the people at the top of any financial organisation, but they do trust that nice person who helped them with their mortgage or sorted out their overdraft. Wells Fargo has transformed its reputation by putting people on the outside in touch with people on the inside. Now that’s being open.