Social networking joins financial education with transactional power behind it at the new website for Smart Financial Credit Union in Houston.
The $435 million credit union hired a new e-commerce manager last November who since then has focused on planning and building the newly launched site at www.smartcu.org.
The redesigned website is the first step in supporting a strategy of opening new communication channels that allow members and potential members to contact Smart Financial how and when they want, said Mike Warrell, the 77,000-member credit union's senior vice president of member service.
New features include an online community connected to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr; an online classroom providing articles, videos, podcasts and a member- driven forum; a lending center that includes product information, rates and calculators; and other special sections designed specifically for the credit union's members in the education and medical professions.
"We wanted this new delivery channel to be easy to navigate, provide education, connect the credit union within the new social media realms, and provide the background analytics that will help us make decisions to improve member service going forward," Warrell said.
