Founded in 1990, First Foundation is a diversified financial services company. First Foundation offers solutions for individuals and businesses wherever they are in their financial journeys. This includes traditional banking (savings and related products), borrowing and investing, wealth management, and services for philanthropy and charitable giving.
With First Foundation in the midst of a digital transformation across its suite of services, starting with an online saving account, the marketing team began searching for tools to improve the customer experience.
When they found Chimney, they found much more than a piece of cool new tech for their website – they found a partner that has helped them think more holistically about how to be a trusted resource for prospective and current customers.
“Chimney understands the different perspectives and they can be a valuable resource for us to learn how to speak to the financial consumer. They are helping us demystify a lot of terminologies that we take for granted.”
Tyler J. Resh
Director of Marketing and Strategy
Before Chimney, potential customers who were looking for answers were having their needs met somewhere else. So even if visitors landed on First Foundation via Google search, their journey of getting to know the bank and its products and services was fragmented.
The goal was simple: How can First Foundation serve as a valued resource when people are looking to have their questions answered?
The marketing team recognized that the lack of personalized, interactive content is a big missed opportunity. That’s where Chimney steps in.
First Foundation decided to add two Chimney calculators into their savings account pages as a way to help facilitate the answers that visitors were seeking, provide education, and build trust.
“We wanted to bring that capability into our domain on our website to facilitate the journey of the benefits of savings, and have more visibility into the engagement itself.”
Tyler J. Resh
Director of Marketing and Strategy
“We know the engagement is better than before we started with Chimney.”
Colin Kapp
Senior Marketing Manager
First Foundation is pleased that the calculators are helping to drive engagement and increase the duration of a visitor’s session. By interacting with the calculators, these tools help bolster the legitimacy and credibility of the site, while keeping people engaged on the page longer.
As a next step, the marketing team can offer a variety of next level engagement options, whether it’s a video or an offer for a complimentary session with a professional on their team.
“We’re big advocates of data, but I think there's another aspect that’s important – that the calculators solidify our position as an institution that wants to help.”
Tyler J. Resh
Director of Marketing and Strategy
First Foundation was aware that its restrictive technology ecosystem and extensive due diligence and risk assessment process could prove to be a barrier when working with third-party vendors. However, the marketing and tech teams were pleased that Chimney was able to navigate whatever challenges emerged.
“I can’t emphasize enough how challenging our tech infrastructure is for third parties to plug and play in our environment. That was made really seamless and Chimney worked through the challenges to the point that they had coders on the line troubleshooting on our behalf.”
Tyler J. Resh
Director of Marketing and Strategy
“When there is a savings rate change there are 15 things to do before 8 a.m. with little notice. The back end of these calculators, the CMS, and not having to go to them every time we have a change makes the process simple.”
Colin Kapp
Senior Marketing Manager
With other partnerships, there might not be much contact after the initial set up. But that’s not the case with Chimney. First Foundation was pleasantly surprised at how invested the team at Chimney is in not just the functionality, but in the success of the calculators.
“The calculators are instrumental in building out our vision for being an educational resource to those who are looking to better understand the world of banking. Everyone at First Foundation was very excited about the features and functionality that the calculators brought.”
Tyler J. Resh
Director of Marketing and Strategy
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