The financial institution has embraced information technology, not only as a vehicle for communicating with its members and the wider public, but also for carrying out its public-education programmes and providing infor-mation for various stakeholders.

The organisation now boasts its own blogspot, has videos on YouTube, and can be found on most of the major social-networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Additionally, CCCU has been using text messaging and email to reach its member base, and its website will soon serve as a portal for online banking.

Additional clients

This multi-faceted approach to communication has helped the company to serve its current membership while attracting additional clients.

"As a cutting-edge financial institution, we are long past the stage where a call centre or a printed statement are our main means of communicating with our customers," Juven Montague-Anderson, manager, marketing and public relations, explained.

"There was a time when you literally had to employ a research firm to get good customer feedback, but now the technology allows our customers to speak directly to you, which is a significant advantage," Montague-Anderson explained.

"The digital-age consumer doesn't want to be dictated to. They want to have dialogue, and in recognition of this, we have an interactive approach to our communication, and we're always encouraging our members to tell us what's working and what's not."