my.nextcard.com

The Virtual Front Door: Log-in Screen

For most banks, their Web’s primary role is servicing existing customers. So your first line of service and cross-selling is not on your home page, it’s on your log-in screen. Users will either go directly to that page from their bookmark file, or click through to it from your home page without even bothering to download home page graphics.

Notice how NextCard uses every inch of the login real estate to make cardholders aware of its latest services (screenshot above). The “NextCard Insider” uses a newsletter style to tell customers about two important account retention devices:

•  PictureCard – Cardholders can download any personal picture to be put on the plastic.
•  Concierge – Its ewallet has been reincarnated as an all encompassing Concierge service.

The company also promotes its shopping portal, holiday sweeps, and eCommerce Index

Not So: SFNB uses its login screen to: (1) scare off prospective hackers (as if a large block of text will do any good), and (2) promote its 6% checking account (even though I already have a checking account). The company misses the boat by neglecting to install a link to customer service in case you need help logging in.

Your single most important Web page is the one that greets customers after they successfully login. It’s where you deliver the benefits users expect and cross-sell the products your senior management expects. The service vs. selling trade-off is a fine line that is different for each customer. We recommend erring on the side of soft sell until you get a better idea of what customers want (or will tolerate) as they do their banking online. One universal bit of advice: keep download times to a minimum.

NextCard walks this line by using two navigation bars. The top bar promotes relationship services and Refer-a-Friend. The main bar directly above the user’s Account Summary features four important self-service items:

•  Customer service – Addresses, phone numbers.
•  Mailbox – Secure mailbox for interacting with customer service via email.
•  Account alerts – Triggered alerts based on account activity.
•  Click pay – Electronic payment of monthly minimum or any card balance

After login, the first screen summarizes account info and provides simple navigation to the major service areas. A “ticker” runs across the top in the box labeled “NextCard Insider News” with several short messages such as “Go Shopping – Your personal shopping tool,” and “Travel – Perks – Free flights or free nights.”

The results from Web-based customer service will play a significant role as to whether your entire Web site is viewed as a corporate cost savings tool and career stepping stone, or a “necessary evil” forever exceeding budgets and becoming a “career-limiting” event for those in charge.

A well-designed and professionally written customer support area is crucial for encouraging self-service to drive down costs. Conversely, a poorly designed area simply sends frustrated users to the phones with more questions than they had in the first place, driving up costs. And the cost differences can be dramatic. Soft•letter, a software industry newsletter, recently surveyed Web managers (Dec. 1999) and found the cost per Web-based service incident varied by 1,000-fold* from best to worst. The most efficient said that the cost per incident was merely pennies, while the worst reported average costs of more than $200 per question solved.

The NextCard Customer Service front-page adds a third navigation menu with three common functions:

•  Change user profile
•  Change password
•  Request second card

Note: These functions all require users to reenter their password.

*Cost was determined by taking the entire Web budget and dividing by number of service issues solved; self-reported by software publishers.

NextCard’s front door to e-service (screenshot below) includes a Webmail link for contacting customer service, 24-hour telephone number, and payment address. Finally, the first four questions in an extensive FAQ are listed along with a link to the full list, which is delivered in a pop-up window.

NextCard relies on free-form Webmail for customer questions. Even though NextCard provides live Web-based customer service chat, it doesn’t display that choice until after you have sent an email. The company apparently prefers an email first.

Note the reassurance at the bottom of the screen: “This is a secure environment. Your message will be viewed by authorized NextCard personnel only.”

The LiveHelp button appears only in certain parts of the customer service area, such as above the user’s Sentbox. In our test, we found the interface slightly confusing, but it worked fast. Within 30 seconds we received a complete answer from Liz about our rewards program question.

The full FAQ is displayed in a pop-up window.

Customer service nirvana is achieved when you answer customer questions before they are asked. We called this “embedded service.” On the Net, the primary way to embed service is to create a stream of user-defined email messages triggered by events within the user’s accounts, i.e., notifications, alerts, triggered messages, account watchdogs, Q-Cards (from Q-UP). Although checking account balance notifications have been in limited use since mid-1996 NextCard is the first company to implement a full suite of notifications (see table, upper right).

NextCard Alerts

•  Credit limit is reached or exceeded
•  Balance is within $_____ of my credit limit
•  Balance exceeds $_____
•  Current statement [period, cycle] closes
•  A payment posts to my account
•  A credit posts to my account
•  An item posts from merchant: ______________
•  A posted item exceeds $_____

Source: company Web site, 12/99

The only major thing missing from NextCard’s alerts are fraud-related triggers, such as an alert “if card used outside the country,” “if card used more than ____ times in ____ hours,” and most importantly, “if my profile is changed or a second card is requested.”

NextCard Account Alerts features four user-defined alerts and four standard alerts. The process of establishing alerts is a bit tedious; only one can be set at a time, but once set, you needn’t ever be surprised by a credit card statement again.

As NextCard expands to become a full-service online transaction provider with checking accounts, bill pay, funds transfer, P2P payments, and shopping support (receipts, returns, etc.), expect the company to improve their service capabilities even further. With such a high online profile, including being the exclusive card issuer for Amazon.com, NextCard cannot afford poor service. The consumer backlash online, not too mention the account churn, would undermine its hyper-growth plans.