Geezeo Team Blog

No Summer Slow Down In Sight

clagett — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:10:57 -0400

We’re cranking things up at Geezeo and really keeping things humming right along. Here are some quick highlights:

We have two openings for developers right now. Visit our careers section for more details. If you have Ruby experience; let’s talk.

This week we kick off our first of many Best Practices webinars, These quarterly events are for clients only - and select prospects. We’re big believers in transparency and like it when our clients collaborate.

This is a big week on the road. We’re in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana.

Geezeo Signs U$X FCU

clagett — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:30:02 -0400

Tolland, CT USA June 6, 2013 – Geezeo, a leading financial technology firm that offers personal financial management (PFM), and web-based, data-driven marketing platforms to financial institutions, today announced that U$X Federal Credit Union will integrate Geezeo’s PFM product into it’s online banking platform. The Pennsylvania credit union will be provided with a fully integrated, white label PFM solution, and will benefit from Geezeo’s unique engagement banking platform, which enables financial institutions to deliver highly relevant content from within the online banking environment.

About Geezeo

Geezeo offers financial institutions an integrated suite of online tools and services including best-in-class Personal Financial Management (PFM). The Geezeo PFM solution is predominantly integrated with a client’s online banking platform, giving their users a holistic view of financial assets, liabilities, cash flow, goals and budgets. Geezeo’s included Engagement Banking platform, offers relevant, data-driven content that helps financial institutions develop online customer dialog while generating growth through acquisition and increased wallet share. Recently Geezeo introduced its API and is bringing PFM data to a variety of retail delivery channels. In addition to PFM, Geezeo offers Referral Engine, an online referral tool and Financial Advisor (PFA), a lead generation tool powering leads between PFM and a financial institutions investment group. For more information on the privately held company, visit www.geezeo.com.

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Mobile and Beyond

clagett — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:14:16 -0400

This week we are in Miami at the 7th Annual Mobile Banking and Commerce Summit sponsored by American Banker. Steve will be down there with one of our partners and he’ll be offering some insight into our Mobile plans with PFM. We’re already deep in the weeds with develop of a robust tablet app for a large mid-west bank holding company. If you can’t make the event, follow along at #MCS2013.

Well done Oswego FCU, well done!

clagett — Thu, 30 May 2013 10:00:12 -0400

Well done Oswego FCU, well done!

A Short Week Packed With Goodness

clagett — Tue, 28 May 2013 11:02:15 -0400

It may only be a 4 day week, but we have all kinds of goodness going on at Geezeo. Here are some highlights for the week:

Clients are being notified of our free engagement banking ads. The Geezeo PFM solution includes a robust marketing platform that allows clients FIs to cross sell in a very targeted manner.
Steve is putting final plans together regarding our participation in the Mobile Banking and Commerce Summit being held next week in Miami. Yes, we have all kinds of mobile initiatives in the work.
We have 4 clients going live with PFM this week.
We are actively looking for Developers with Ruby experience.

We Are Hiring

clagett — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:16 -0400

If you like working with people and have some experience working in customer service, we may have the perfect opportunity. Check out our careers section.

As soon as Steve gets back from Chicago, we’ll complete...

clagett — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:51:23 -0400

As soon as Steve gets back from Chicago, we’ll complete our NYC move-in.

Another Geezeo Office Opens and Much More

clagett — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:46:18 -0400

Looks like another busy week as we get ready for the unofficial start of summer. Here are some highlights:

Steve is in Chicago visiting folks at a Fiserv user conference. Hit him up on Twitter at @senigri if you’d like a visit. He is showing demos of how easily our PFM product integrates.
We’ve started moving into our new NYC office. We now have offices in Tolland, CT (our HQ); Milton, MA; Williamsburg, VA and NYC. Pete is headed to the city Thursday.
We’ll be announcing a new partnership shortly. Our new partner is finalizing the commercialization process. This is exciting for folks looking to take online banking to a new level.
We have several clients going live with PFM this week. Our implementation is working hard.

This Week At Geezeo

clagett — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:59:09 -0400

Here are some highlights for the coming week:

If you are a Symitar credit union, look for us at the SymWest User Group meeting in Anaheim, CA. Brian Orta, our new Channel Manager. will be there highlighting the ease of integrating Geezeo PFM into online banking. Be sure to talk to our friends at WRG too.
On the 15th, Jim Craig will be hosting “Managing Your Digital Reputation and Leveraging Your Digital Presence”. This one hour Edge13 Webinar is ideal for credit unions and community banks. Click here to register.
Have you seen a Geezeo PFM product demo? We have some slots available this week, so if your bank or credit union is considering PFM, a 30 minute demo may be ideal. Click here to request a demo.

Interesting approach by Western Union in India. As you walk...

clagett — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:30:29 -0400

Interesting approach by Western Union in India. As you walk closer to the display, the image changes. And it supports the headline.

May 15th #EDGE13 Webinar Topic Announced

clagett — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:00:02 -0400

This month’s presentation goes under the hood of digital marketing to cover the current types of digital marketing and which digital marketing strategies are best for credit unions and banks.

Those participating in the webinar will learn more about:

How digital marketing strategies and tactics can impact top-of-mind-awareness, new member acquisition and sales.
Which digital marketing tools are appropriate for credit unions and banks, and how to integrate them

Presenting will be Neal Lappe, President, and Dave McKillen, Director of Development at WebStrategies Inc. WebStrategies is a digital marketing agency with offices in Richmond, VA and Asheville, NC. They are one of a select group of Google Certified Partner companies, and they are the recipient of 4 Web Marketing Association awards in the last 6 years.

Details for Edge13 Webinar #5

Topic:

Managing Your Digital Reputation and Leveraging Your Digital Presence

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Time: 2:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

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To register for this meeting

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1. Go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2943125795410391808

2. Register for the meeting.

We hope to see you there, and please mark you calendar for Part 2 of Credit Union’s in the Digital World with guest James Robert Lay of PTP New Media on June 19th.

This Week At Geezeo

clagett — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:02:10 -0400

We’re headed to Château Elán in Georgia for the 2013 Safe Systems National Users Conference, now known as NetConnect. The NetConnect Conference will address the ever-changing FFIEC regulations, information security, business continuity, business best practices and the latest banking technologies and trends today. Look for Pete and Steve to be there. They are very easy to find.

Embarrassing money moments. They happen to us all.

clagett — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:30:16 -0400

Embarrassing money moments. They happen to us all.

Meet Alex, An Awesome Geezeo Intern

clagett — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:15:54 -0400

Alex is a senior at Eastern Connecticut State University – Graduating in May 2013. He is majoring in Computer Science with a Minor in Sustainable Energy

Extra Curricular activities:

Alex is very active at school …

Alex works on campus as the Computer Science Tutor, helping students with homework assignments and programming projects.
He is a Member of AITP Club (Association of Information Technology Professionals).
Member of the Data Management Club – with a primary goal to have the group obtain an Oracle database certification.
Intramural Soccer and Basketball participant.
Member of a math and computer science honors society called Upsilon pi Epsilon.

So Alex, what are some of your Hobbies?

“I’m a very active person, love spending time outside and enjoy some competition in various sports. I’ve been skiing since I was 5, and every year I try to visit the mountains at least once. Recently my brother got me into rock climbing.”

Fun Fact

“I only applied to one college, and that was ECSU, and initially wasn’t accepted into the school. I had to participate in a summer class program, and did really well. Now I’m graduating with a 3.5 GPA in one of the hardest majors offered at ECSU. I think this is one of my biggest accomplishments of my life.”(Awesome job Alex.)

Why PFM is important to you?

“I think PFMs are very useful and beneficial for companies that integrate PFMs into their online banking. PFM has helped me realize how much money I spend on Dining out! Information provided by PFMs will help graduating students budget more efficiently and be prepared to make regular payments on school loans, and bills.”

This Week At Geezeo

clagett — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:52:27 -0400

We had a big week last week, highlighted by our partnershop announcement with Access Softek. You’ll be hearing more about our mobile strategy in the weeks to come, including a new tablet initiative.

This week we’re in Texas, attending the Q2eBanking Client Conference. More detail can be found here
Geezeo Interactive, our interactive and marketing division, is tweaking our client marketing toolbox. We now provide very strong PFM product launch plans to clients.
We have a number of product demos set up, but we always can do more. If you’d like to learn more about our PFM or Referral Engine, just give us a shout.

Access Softek and Geezeo Announce Partnership

clagett — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Bryan E. Clagett, Geezeo, Chief Marketing Officer bclagett@geezeo.com

Maddie Greene, Access Softek mgreene@accesssoftek.com

Access Softek and Geezeo Announce Partnership

Fusion of mobile banking and PFM brings the mobile banking tipping point closer

BERKELEY, CA USA APRIL 26, 2013— Access Softek, Inc. and Geezeo, two proven technology innovators, today announced their partnership. Integrating Access Softek’s mobile banking with Geezeo’s personal finance management (PFM) launches the next generation of mobile banking.

As a result of this partnership, users will have a single mobile product that combines complete day-to-day financial operations with planning and goal management. Access Softek’s Mobile Finance Manager offers extensive functionality including true real-time deposit capture, bill pay, P2P transfers, and more. Incorporating Geezeo PFM capabilities like account aggregation, auto-categorization, and spending alerts gives users unprecedented personal finance power while on the go.

Integration between PFM and mobile banking moves the industry closer to the “mobile banking tipping point,” where mobile banking becomes more valuable than online banking. Like all technological tipping points, its winners will be those who move quickly to take advantage of the explosion of new opportunities. Community banks and credit unions can turn risk into advantage by choosing the right partners to contend against the largest banks as well as competition from fast moving, high-tech startups.

“When you can manage your budget in real time as you spend money instead of updating it belatedly at home, your results are more complete and accurate,” said Access Softek CEO Chris Doner. “We expect more people will use PFM when it’s mobile.”

“We’re excited about this partnership and already are moving forward,” said Peter Glyman, Geezeo President. “Geezeo’s PFM tools will soon be available to Access Softek’s 300-plus clients and the more than two million users they serve.”

About Geezeo:

Geezeo offers banks and credit unions an integrated suite of online tools and services including Personal Financial Management (PFM) software. Geezeo’s unique Engagement Banking platform helps financial institutions develop online customer dialog while generating growth through customer acquisition and increased wallet share. Recently, Geezeo introduced its API and is bringing PFM data to a variety of retail delivery channels. More information is available at www.geezeo.com.

About Access Softek:

Access Softek provides innovative mobile banking products with secure, rich functionality to customers of banks, credit unions, brokerage firms, and others. Since 1986 they have developed both custom and turnkey mobile solutions out of their Berkeley, California headquarters. For more information about Access Softek visit accesssoftek.com/mobile.

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Who Are Your Centers of Influence

clagett — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:56:30 -0400

Published 3.26 on CU Insight

The people at Geezeo have heard me preach on the virtues of identifying Centers of Influence since 2009. What’s a Center of Influence you ask? Centers of influence are those people (or organizations) that can boost your market access and credibility through referrals, testimonials, and simple, undervalued word-of-mouth. These are people who are generally very well established, are good networkers and who can introduce you to the kind of markets (or members) you need and are looking for. Ideally, you should be in the network of several Centers of Influence.

So why is this important? The Roper Organization has conducted many studies on influential people for decades. They have found that the influential segment of the population is “remarkable for its consistency and typically deeply involved in their communities, both socially and politically.” Their research suggests that winning the confidence of one Center of Influence can create six loyal customers. Of those six new ‘customers’, I’m will to bet there are another 2 Centers of Influence. There is an exponential opportunity.

I know what you are thinking. No, attending GAC, shaking a Congressman’s hand or rubbing elbows with Ron Shevlin, does not mean you know your Centers of Influence. Even if you personally have a network of ‘influencers”, does your CEO, your branch managers. or you business developers?

So what are some simple steps you can take to cultivate Centers of Influence? Maybe the following will help get you started:

Identify and Target Your Centers of Influence

Who can help you grow the credit union? Let me be even clearer; who will introduce you to desirable potential SEGs, clients or members? Develop a database of ideal contacts and a brief profile for each and share it with your team.

Define Value

Seeing how banking (or “credit unioning”) is such a commodity, this one may be a challenge for you. What genuine, unique value can you offer Centers of Influence? What do you or your credit union bring to the table? What skills, contacts, information or resources do you have? Imagine you are a start-up doing a pitch on Shark Tank. What would you say?

Points of Contact

Where do your Centers of Influence hang? Do they belong to any specific professional organizations, business associations or networking groups? Do you have a presence there? In my market here in southeastern Virginia, I see a lot more bankers than credit union people at business and community functions.

Gather Your Information and Present

You’ll need to approach Centers of Influence. That means you better have an arsenal of “material” that you can use as bling. No keychain, koozie or golf ball will win you business. You need conversation and some compelling evidence that you are special and unique. Yes, a little dog and pony is needed and can go a long way. I bet the bulk of you (and your staff) don’t have an elevator speech. And if you do, and it starts with “We want to be a financial partner and advocate..”, then you are saying the same thing 7500 other credit unions are saying. Go back to “Define Value” above.

Speak Up!

A warm introduction to a Center of Influence is always better than a cold introduction. Let those in your current network, including your employees and Board, know who you are looking for. Get the message out and tell them you are looking for influential people in the market. You may have a teller that is better connected than your CEO. Ask people for introductions.

What’s In It For Them?

Once you get into a conversation with a Center of Influence, what are you going to say? Never use “Hi, I’m with a credit union so please send people my way.” You’ll need a very compelling reason backed by your value proposition (see Define Value above!) for them to want to associate with you and want to introduce you to other people or organizations. Be specific and address what you are offering and what do you want them to do. You’ll need to demonstrate how you too can help the Center of Influence.

Invite Participation

Centers of Influence like to engage other people. So be sure to offer to hook them up with others in your network. Invite them to events, ideally lead by or sponsored by your credit union, where they too can make valuable new contacts. Connecting the dots is important and put you in a great position,

Keep In Touch

Establishing initial contact and making your pitch is only half the battle. You must retain and maintain your relevance by staying under the nose of your Centers of Influence. Social media liked Linkedin is a good start, but you also want one-on-one communication. Curate some content of information that is of value and share it. And make sure you invite influencers to your events and let them do the same.

Reward your Centers of Influence

When a Center of Influence gives you a lead of makes an introduction for you, show your appreciation immediately. Recognize and acknowledge the effort they made on your behalf.

Bryan

Meet Another Great Geezeo Intern

clagett — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:40:00 -0400

Say hello to Kate Chamberlin. She’s been interning with Geezeo for the past year. A freshman at Eastern Connecticut State University, Kate is majoring in Computer Science. She recently joined the Association of Information Technology Professionals.

When asked about her view of PFM, she had plenty to say:

“Geezeo’s Personal Financial Management (PFM) tool allows users to visualize the amount of money one spends, and then create goals and budgets around that spending. PFM has helped me cut back on several expenses such as dining out and shopping. I can also look ahead to see how much money I will have in the future by using the cashflow section. Overall, the tool is great and helpful for anyone!”

We’re lucky to have Kate with us.

This Week At Geezeo

clagett — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:30:23 -0400

The Geezeo Nation is really spreading its wings this week. You’ll find us in Las Vegas at the Fiserv GROW Conference, Houston for a Symitar event and south of Boston at the Great New England Credit Union Show. We love frequent flyer miles.

For those of you not road tripping this week, plan to join us on 4/25 as we host another Edge13 webinar with PTP New Media’s James Robert Lay.

Meet Megan, One of Our Awesome Interns

clagett — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:20:00 -0400

Megan Fleck was lucky enough to land an internship at Geezeo. She is a University of Connecticut Senior, graduating this May. Her majors include International Business Management and Political Science.

Megan belongs to the UConn Marketing Society, Pi Sigma Alpha and she enjoys cooking, writing, fashion, golfing and traveling.

When asked why she thinks PFM is important, she responded with: “It helps you to better organize and manage your money, which is extremely helpful when trying to put yourself on a budget. Overall it makes life easier!”

Wise words Megan, wise words.