Community
I confess I was a little shocked by the revelation that UK banks had dumped customer data in bins and Chris Skinner's blog was an interesting read.
I was disappointed to see the Co-operative bank listed. I expected better. They may have messed up in this regard, but I actually moved to the Co-op bank's Smile.co.uk solely on the basis of their ethical stance which sets them apart from what the public see as the "rip-off merchants". And I know, having sent Smile a stroppy message that I will forgive them.
This set me thinking. I'm not known for anything resembling customer loyalty so why am I so forgiving? Have I been won over by Smile's friendly/ethical marketing message?
It's partly apathy - moving accounts is tedious. And where would I move to, given that this data dumping seemed a widespread practice?
But it's mainly down to my previous experience. Smile's web site is a joy to use. This alone would probably keep me loyal - and the ethical stance is a huge bonus feeding some genuine belief I have that the world can be a better place.
Let's face it - how many banks put their ethical policy online? In fact how many banks have one at all? And anyone who knows anything about the history of the co-operative movement will understand that an ethical policy isn't just necessarily a bit of clever marketing, it can actually change lives for the better, although I freely admit it can be a darn compelling bit of marketing spin too. And why not? Not all marketing is necessarily shallow or evil. (Just most of it).
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