Banking continues to represent one of the most striking examples of the difficulty of traditional sectors to gain an online dimension.
Despite the long journey that banking has taken online, when accessing public areas of most banks (national or international) is evident the confusion that still represents the management of (increasingly new) “new channels”. And this mess is as much bigger as it gets, or as much as trying to be, the bank in question.
If in the transactional aspect, associated with the private homebanking area, better or worse, despite several usability gaps, almost all meet the objective, in the public area usually there is chaos and antithesis of everything that today advocates in good marketing and sales practices.
The strange case of “Net Product”
If I have savings and because of fear of the capital market I do not want to apply them on a stock exchange but on a fixed-term deposit, when I consult on a bank’s website information about “deposits” what do I usually find?
Deposit products options tables!
Normally, all, or almost all variants that the bank has... deposits. The problem? I just want to deposit my savings!
The options are so many that I probably give up and evaluate other options. I'll probably have enough time for someone to explain to me that the current financial market moment is a good time for the patient investor (in time).
Worse than this, the vast majority of banks always have, in the middle of the supply matrix, a special product “NET”. That is, I just want to make a deposit, take with a pile of deposits offers and in the middle meet a product “Net Deposit”.
If I am on the Internet, I want to make a deposit and there is a product called “Net Deposit”, is it not apparent that this should be the best deposit product the Bank has for me? If only this product existed, I'd say yes. There's more to it than that. If the others are there... maybe they have advantages!
The weight of the structure
A few months ago, I attended a conference as a speaker. Online Bank (the presentation can be consulted Here. ). It was curious to hear the sharing of experiences of various actors who experience the day-to-day management problems of this new reality of banking. In one of the interventions, one of the complaints that an online channel manager made was that he did not have on the channel all available on the counters.
This example illustrates the confusion of perception about what the online channel is.
This observation raises a false question: although all the offer is available at the bank counter, the client does not know it. So it's like it doesn't exist. In fact, in addition to the main services (deposits, credit, cards, etc.), at the counter the customer is exposed to products that have physical advertising (in the window, leaflets, posters). And typically, the customer attention focus does not fix more than 2 products.
So on the Internet we have many more products exposed than on the counters!
The Focus Problem
In almost every conference or seminar I have attended, or have known, on the theme of Banca Online, we try to “create learning opportunity, new trends and developments in creating an online experience that results in high levels of satisfaction and loyalty” (have you noticed?:).
And it's discussed as:
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Create differentiation and increase the transactional component;
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Increase customer loyalty by creating a positive online experience;
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To leverage the online channel in order to get to know the customer better and anticipate their financial needs;
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Develop the bank brand by creating an online environment that reflects bank standards and commitment to customer satisfaction.
None of this is wrong. But normally, none of this brings anything new. In a period when “innovation” and “transformation” applies to almost all markets and industries, this issue needs new approaches; new perspectives; if possible... more practical approaches!
A new approach to online banking
Observing online channels that are most successful in converting visitors, it is easily noticed that apart from some honorable exceptions, the most successful sites share something common: they are monoproduct.
See examples of credit companies, credit cards and car insurance.
Single-product model for retail banking:
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Site monoproduct by area: a visitor on a bank's website does not want to find the typical “merger shelf” with similar offers among themselves. He wants to find the “credit” corridor, the “deposits” corridor, the “safe” corridor, the “credit cards” corridor, etc.
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All products are “Net”. E.g. “Net Credit”, “Net Deposit”;
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The Net is not a product for you. It is a product type classification that presents widespread product/service information. This information is complemented by simulators that adapt the product to the customer's need;
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Customer orientation is complemented with online (click2call or click2chat) service that connects online to offline, keeping focus on who is most important: the customer;
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The service must have several levels (many banks already do it well): New customers: first level of service for filtering; Existing customers are attended by higher levels, with real knowledge of the Bank's operation (i.e. no telemarketing); VIP clients: have unique and identifiable account manager.
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Customers must be accompanied on a visit to the site with a proposal for general help or by the account manager.
It's time for banking (and other areas) to realize that the focus cannot be the internal business structure and has to become really the customer. It is time to realize the meaning of “Less is more”!
Anyone interested in developing and testing the model?