Monzo's Relaxed Tone on Social Media etc

@davidsulitzer bought this up the other day -

And the below replies were responses that were initially posted in that topic.

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Is it a big loss though? The target market of Monzo are millenials and at the end of the day those ā€œmillenialsā€ are here to stay whether some people like it or notā€¦

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Is that right? Really?

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Massive assumption there I think!

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Possibly but thatā€™s what it looks like to me at least.

I know I look young but Iā€™m not a millennial.

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I understand why it looks like this but in fact, Tomā€™s said on several occasions that Monzo is for anyone who ā€˜lives their lifeā€™ on their smartphone.

Click the :arrow_down_small: to view the full post.

The content that Monzo produces (i.e. their Instagram stories) is obviously influenced by the fact that itā€™s a relatively young team & Monzo seemingly doesnā€™t want to be perceived as a boring, distant bank.

But their tone is very similar to Innocentā€™s & Slackā€™s which, as a business productivity tool, obviously isnā€™t just aimed at millennials. Itā€™s just more approachable.

It might be unconventional for a bank (& most companies) at the moment but considering how much more effective this tone is on social media, I canā€™t see why this wonā€™t become the norm. So I expect people will get used to this. Thereā€™s no reason why a companyā€™s employees shouldnā€™t be able to have fun while also doing serious work.

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Both of my Monzo using parents (late 60s/early 70s) will be delighted to be referred to as ā€˜millennialsā€™. Iā€™ll let them know.

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So itā€™s only millennials that can have a bit of fun, everyone else can just complain about youngsters these days, the weather and the price of fuel! :stuck_out_tongue:

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disagree with that statement

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B******s! Anyone with an Android or iOS smartphone interested in banking on a mobile, whatever their age.

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Douglas Adams had something to say about this

ā€œIā€™ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:

1. Anything that is in the world when youā€™re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything thatā€™s invented between when youā€™re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after youā€™re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.ā€

ā€”Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

Millienials may need to Google the name Douglas Adams :wink:

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My Dad is such a Millennial in his 60ā€™s :joy:

I think Iā€™m a Millennial but Iā€™m not really sure.

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Itā€™s one of the reasons I prefer Monzo to Starling. It gives less of an emotionless bank vibe.

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If iā€™m thinking correctly, the video he is referring to would be Monzo Stories, a weekly series we ran on Instagram which featured light hearted behind the scenes snippets courtesy of a different team member each week.

I completely understand why some people arenā€™t comfortable with the idea of a financial institution creating this sort of content. Looking after someoneā€™s money is a huge responsibility and there has been feedback that a playful approach to tone of voice (and regular use of emoji) doesnā€™t convey the right level of professionalism.

Personally I donā€™t think that adopting a more lighthearted approach to communication and operating a safe secure and reliable bank are mutally exclusive. The main thing is context, understanding when a more serious hat is required to make sure our customers have confidence in our ability to assist them any way we can. This is something weā€™re always working on and why the ā€˜Monzo Storiesā€™ videos were reserved for Instagram rather than being featured on our website or other social platforms.

Iā€™d like to think weā€™re building trust and legitimacy in a more meaningful ways too, via things like our blog posts, meatier video content such as Monzo Insider and most importantly word of mouth.

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I second this. Iā€™ve had enough of emotionless banks not empathising with me or being cold and clinical when I ring up already frustrated about a problem Iā€™m getting. Itā€™s nice having customer service that is not only helpful/ friendly but you think you could be friends with them? And that perception is important. One of my local banks tries very hard to push the image of being your ā€œneighbourā€ (itā€™s in their tagline) and I think if Monzo wants to put forth a progressive, friendly image being simply professional isnā€™t going to cut it.

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I think if someone is more than happy with the tone and service of traditional banks then more power to them. Iā€™m not going to begrudge them. Perhaps they still purchase physical newspapers and pay cash for cabs too :wink: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

For me, the appeal of Monzo (as both a customer and an employee) is that we think traditional banks have terrible service, their tone is corporate, boring, unhelpful and not even remotely empathetic, and they are generally very dull. We are very consciously doing something different here and itā€™s going to rub some people the wrong way. I personally believe that thatā€™s a very small amount of people. If we work hard enough weā€™ll eventually get them through peer pressure anyway :joy:

Iā€™m not at all dismissive of this stuff, but we literally get many magnitudes more happy customers with a relaxed approach, in my opinion.

Frankly Iā€™d be more unhappy if someone said the opposite - that they felt something we did on social was too corporate.

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as empathetic as a dodo fossil

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I wouldnā€™t say that acting millennial is an issue, I guess some people are set in their ways and would prefer to speak to someone with a shirt and tie that calls them sir or madam.

Is there such thing as being too millennial, personally I donā€™t think Monzo has a target market of millenials, Iā€™d say its target market is forward-thinkers who are unhappy with the status quo and who want a better way to interact with their money.

Personally, Iā€™d much rather be able to live chat with someone in support in a casual manner than spending 30 minutes on the phone to an overseas call centre getting passed between departments.

Obviously people like what Monzo is doing and how its acting, personally I think its refreshing

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Thatā€™s a better approach, I reckon.