The Challenge
American 1 Credit Union, based in South Central Michigan and serving more than 58,000 members, is in growth mode. While they’ve been busy opening new branches, their customer review process has stalled. The credit union reached out to unsatisfied customers who left negative reviews, but they weren’t getting many new reviews to help bolster their online reputation. Laura Pryor, vice president of marketing and communications, said, “There was no big effort in terms of getting more reviews. I mean, you can ask people, but most don’t post positive reviews organically.”
The Solution
American 1 Credit Union received an invaluable recommendation from its auto dealership partner. They told credit union leadership about using Podium to improve their online reputation management. American 1 Credit Union decided to demo Podium services and was struck with the platform’s simplicity. “I knew that we needed it,” Pryor said.
As American 1 Credit Union rolled out Podium’s services, the team quickly embraced the positive changes. “It was easy with our team because they were excited about it,” said Abby Smith, vice president of branch operations. “You can send out this review request and when your member sends them back it’s just a nice little compliment, so it’s kind of self-driving in that way.”
The Result
Customer feedback is important to American 1 Credit Union, and Podium has helped the company make major strides. Since implementing Podium, American 1 Credit Union’s star rating has risen from 3.9 to 4.6.
One specific piece of feedback that American 1 has seen a lot lately is about Podium Webchat—a convenient channel of communication that allows customers to ask quick questions without waiting for someone to answer the phone.
American 1 Credit Union has also noticed more search traffic. “I’m amazed at how many searches there are right around our branches,” said Pryor. Smith added, “People don’t go to the second page in Google; they’re not looking for you. You need to be at the top of the list.”
