Sad Smile.co.uk?

7sefton

Does anyone else think that the Co-op have neglected their smile.co.uk brand over the past few years? Their interest rates have been poor for some time, but what kept me with them was their fresh and modern design, and a sense that they really cared for customer service.

Now they seem much more keen to push the main Cooperative Bank brand, as all letters I have received from smile now have the Co-op logo displayed very prominently. A lot of the marketing info on the smile website is out of date, whilst the Co-op's has just been revamped.

Following the merger with Britannia, and the rebrand of the Cooperative Group in general, are smile's days numbered? And is this even a bad thing?

orangeslimes

I think the design of smile.co.uk internet banking is really quite poor - there are a lot of ways it could be made more functional... for a company advertising itself as 'the internet bank' it is quite appalling.
and yeh the website does seem a bit shoddy in parts...
I think they need to do some work on it asap .

On the plus side an Italian waiter liked my pale pink credit card and informed me noone would steal it if they found it because of its colour.

7sefton

Also, just look at how First Direct (probably a key competitor to smile) has gone from strength to strength, because HSBC have invested time, money and TLC to their brand - lots of people I know have heard of FD, and many actually have an account with them. Unlike smile...

freyasmum

orangeslimes wrote: »

On the plus side an Italian waiter liked my pale pink credit card and informed me noone would steal it if they found it because of its colour.

I want a pink credit card

On a slightly more serious note, I don't like the design of the website at all. It's looks cluttered and childish.

I can't comment on the way they run their business as I am not a customer.

rb10

freyasmum wrote: »

I want a pink credit card

Halifax do a pink credit card.

nzseries1

rb10 wrote: »

Halifax do a pink credit card.

So do Virgin.

I like my pretty pink Virgin card but I can't use it because I have a tremendous great balance transfer on it at 0% for another 5 months and so can't (well, shouldn't) spend on the card

wenyi

7sefton wrote: »

Does anyone else think that the Co-op have neglected their smile.co.uk brand over the past few years?

[...]

Following the merger with Britannia, and the rebrand of the Cooperative Group in general, are smile's days numbered? And is this even a bad thing?

I'm a pretty happy smile customer for a number of years now, and I think the OPs comment is spot on! Actually, I'm with smile because it's part of the Co-op Bank, so I don't worry especially.

I do think both smile and the Co-op Bank need to improve their offering. I don't need them to top the best buy tables, but they need to make sure they're not at the bottom! And avoiding some of the sharp consumer practices of the other banks, like large transaction fees and exchange rate loadings.

I'm extremely happy with their customer service, I' just like them to put some "edge" back into their products.

A well-made observation by the OP! :T

Wenyi

Extant

In a way, it's no surprise - when Smile was established a decade ago, the Co-op brand name was a lot less valuable than it is now, and their "main" bank was a lot less popular. A natural ambition to increase market share comes around at a time when technology was becoming readily available to customers, and boom, Smile the internet bank is born.

Now, the Co-op brand name is a lot stronger, and the internet is common everywhere - internet banking is no longer an interesting prospect. It makes sense, that Smile would become a devalued brand while they push the increasingly popular Co-op brand.

I'd give it a few more years before they save the money and roll it all in to one.

System

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Now, the Co-op brand name is a lot stronger.

Absolutely. The co-operative movement is coming through the credit crunch with its reputation intact and provides an alternative to the standard shareholder business model. I decided to open a current account with the co-op but opted for the co-operative bank rather than smile. The online banking is identical, apart from the awful pink colour scheme of smile. I much prefer the blue/cyan of the parent company. I really like their recent makeover.

Several years ago I opened a smile account because I wanted to avoid having 'Co-op' prominently displayed on my cards & cheque book - a throwback from my childhood. Now I feel I am making something of a statement by opting for the co-operative bank itself. I have even become a member of the co-operative society - just like my mum used to be (oh dear!).

MoneySavingNovice

scgf wrote: »

.........The co-operative movement is coming through the credit crunch with its reputation intact......

I agree, I have a smile current account and would be happy if they incorperated it back into the Co-operative bank.

Extant

MoneySavingNovice wrote: »

I agree, I have a smile current account and would be happy if they incorperated it back into the Co-operative bank.

If they have identical on-line banking etc. then I would expect it to be a short term eventuality - they're geared up for it.