Member testimonials in Texas

Yesterday, I had a nice phone call with Susan Herring of Brazos Valley Schools CU in Katy, Texas. Susan is awesome, and had a glowing review of our PlumWall testimonial product, which she has been using ever since we rolled it out.

Here’s a summary of what she told me: Susan said she LOVES PlumWall and thinks it’s worth every penny.

She loves how easy it is for members to put their testimonials up, and that members use PlumWall to give their testimonials even more than the online survey system they use.

She also said that staff really enjoys when they are the ones featured in the system. Whenever a new testimonial comes in featuring a staff member, Susan emails it to everyone in the CU so that that staff member gets their moment in the spotlight of doing excellent things for the member, which naturally encourages everyone else to continue doing their great work for members so that they’ll get their turn in the testimonial spotlight down the road.

We are so thrilled that Susan is loving her PlumWall! Maybe it’s something that will liven up your own online member testimonials!

Getting your member testimonials online

EverythingCU’s PlumWall continues to draw new member testimonials for the credit unions that have deployed it.

Here’s some of the latest stories that have been shared online:

Heartland CU in Minnesota:

“While on vacation there was a glitch with my Heartland VISA card. I can’t stress enough how the quick actions of Heartland Credit Union allowed my family and I to have a fantastic, uninterrupted vacation! An issue that has taken me days to correct at other banks was fixed within minutes! That outstanding level of customer service and attention to detail is what will keep customers loyal to Heartland for years and years. Thanks again to the terrific staff at Heartland CU.”

“Amy and Carol have always been great to work with. I have been a member for 15+ years and Amy just closed an auto loan for me super fast. It’s nice to see efficiency in motion & the personal touch they give. Many thanks!”

Innovations FCU in Florida:

“I recently switched to Innovations FCU because I was extremely dissatisfied with the customer service with my previous local credit union. I was very cautious….I checked out the online site first, then called the main branch to ask questions. The representative was extremely helpful. I have been banking with them for over 2 months and so far the experience has been extremely positive. No matter which of the 3 branches I have been to…. the customer service has been Wonderful! I use the online banking service… Great response when I had questions. I have been recommending Innovations to my family and friends!”

Centra CU in Indiana:

“Orchids to Rachel and Greg at Centra Credit Union, Edinburgh Branch for helping me so much when I discovered fraudulent activity on my account: Rachel for getting my card closed so quickly and Greg for refunding my account as soon as possible”

Fantastic that potential members are learning about the benefits of being a member of these credit unions!

New CU Chat internet radio show

I was delighted to be a guest yesterday on Carla Day’s new weekly internet radio show on Credit Unions. Carla is a fantastic host, and is wonderful credit union advocate. I first met Carla in person at EverythingCU’s Little-B Pokagon, held in Indiana earlier this year. Carla later came to TQ NYC to continue her social media immersion.

A huge thank you to Carla for having me as a guest on her show! I thoroughly enjoyed talking about BarCampBanks and PodCamps, as well as EverythingCU.com’s new social media product for credit unions, PlumWall. Here’s a recording of the show in case you missed it:

Tune in weekly, Wednesdays at 3:00 eastern/2:00 Central to listen to future CU Chat shows!

PlumWall™ Explained

For those of you missed my free EverythingCU webinar, PlumWall™ Explained, I’ve put it online on SlideShare.net for your viewing pleasure. The last portion of the slidecast includes outstanding questions from you, our members, and my answers to them. Enjoy!

PlumWall Explained

View more documents from mmpartee.

FREE PlumWall Informational webinar, July 16

For credit union professionals, I will be holding a short, free informational webinar about our new social media/ testimonial product, PlumWall on Thursday, July 16, at 2 pm Eastern/1 pm Central.

You are probably already at least somewhat familiar with social media. Have you set-up a blog, created a facebook fan page for your credit union, or opened a twitter account to little fanfare? Perhaps you are wondering how you can get involved with “social media” but are concerned about losing control, or IT is shutting down access to certain sites.

Or perhaps you are looking for ways to get more out of your limited marketing budget. You know that online marketing is very low cost compared to traditional media, but don’t know how to leverage it for maximum effect. Maybe you are a fan of member testimonials and member referrals and are looking to put them online, quickly, easily and inexpensively?

Well, EverythingCU.com has the answer for you. With PlumWall, not only have we taken the “scariness” out of social media, we’ve made it as easy as pie for you. PlumWall makes it quick and easy to share member and employee stories online, and puts the whole thing TOTALLY UNDER YOUR CONTROL.

At this short webinar, I will be answering all your PlumWall questions! If I doesn’t know the answer, I’ll make something up that doesn’t sound too far-fetched. We anticipate this info portion of this webinar will last 30 minutes, followed by as much Q&A as your heart desires.

View PlumWall in action on Innovations FCU’s web site.

View the Info page about PlumWall.

Attend this webinar and learn:
• How easy it is to put your member stories online with PlumWall
• How quick and easy it is to get your PlumWall up and running
• About the control panel that puts YOU in charge of everything posted on your web site
• Techniques to increase PlumWall participation
• The answer to any questions you have about how PlumWall works for you, your credit union, and your membership.

Hope to see you there! I’m thrilled that attendance is already running high for this webinar – 67 CUs are already signed up at last count!

Announcing PlumWall

“It’s not about the CU story you tell your members — it’s all about the story your members tell themselves about doing business with your credit union.”
— Ron Shevlin, Aite Group, at BarCampBank NewEngland 4.5.08

There is something new on the EverythingCU home page, and in the navigation bars, called PlumWall.

“What the heck is a PlumWall, and what have you crazy EverythingCU people done now?” you may be asking yourself.

Here at EverythingCU, we’ve understood the power of testimonials for a long time. Heck, it’s the main reason we get out of bed every morning and continue to work to keep your community the amazingly neat and clean place that it continues to be.

Now we have harnessed the power of the web, World 2.0 and social media to allow CREDIT UNIONS and their MEMBERS to share the joy, power, and beauty that is the CREDIT UNION MOVEMENT with one another.

PlumWall enables you to easily upload your member stories and testimonials about your CU. We all know you have LOADS of them, especially loan officers who are literally changing people’s lives for the better. EVERY loan officer has at least three or four VERY special stories they keep on their office wall. Well, it’s time to bring them OUT IN THE PUBLIC for ALL TO SEE!

So check out PlumWall, and see if it’s a fit for YOUR CU’s web site.

Here’s a link to more info.

Here’s a sample of what it looks like, using EverythingCU as example

Here’s what your control panel will look like.

We know it’s not perfect out of the gate, and have room to improve it, but at least it’s a fresh start to make sharing member testimonials online really easy. Feel free to email me any questions, comments, or feedback, or call my cell phone any time at 413-535-0621! We’d love to set it up for you!