Telepocalypse

Peekaboo! I can see you now!

Mr Marketing2.0, aka Johnnie Moore, has an interview with the "peer-to-peer banking" outfit Zopa. Their business model is, um, to put lenders and borrowers in touch. Just in a more "banking 2.0" manner, where people are treated as people and not account numbers.

These two notes quotes struck me as interesting:

4 40 Dave: Messaging has been important, so borrowers can leave a message for those who are lending to them. Some lenders love to get messages from borrowers, why they're borrowing and how they're using the money. Understanding the people behind the user name has been really interesting, a real talking point for our members.

5 47 Johnnie asks about the role of telephone sales people. Dave: Value of the role of talking to people on the phone, it's been reassuring to members, they've made a real difference. Hearing a voice on the end of the phone has made a difference to people.

Today, your bank doesn't appear in your IM client buddy list. I'd suggest that ten years from now, any bank that hasn't figured out how to be there is going to be heading for the great debt collector in the sky. Getting access to people's social and transactional network, even for short periods, is going to be big business. Anyone who captures a "hub" role here is going to make Google's meteoric impact look minor.

Also, corporations clearly need to get personal and transparent. How about this for a first step. When you've got someone on hold, why not tell them "Why not go to phone.foo.com and see a webcam of our busy call centre? You can also enter your number and see where you are in the queue." It's the first step in adding "real presence" to the experience.

Next step: you'll be able to see the person you get put through to. Suddenly, you really are the face of Citicorp or whoever. Being a customer service rep should be a rewarding, interpersonal high-contact job which tests your social skills. Today, we've got those people acting as transcription agents papering over the technology gaps between telephony, the Web and our inadequate public digital identity infrastructure.