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Before launching into product and marketing strategies, let’s reflect on what users expect from online banking. Use this as a checklist as you review your product design and marketing messages.
|
Benefit |
User Expectations |
Example Solutions |
| Basic Needs (must be satisfied to gain trial) | ||
| Secure & private | Protect my privacy and help me maintain the confidentiality of all my financial records (not just those at your institution); make sure no one steals from my account, and if they do, take care of me. | · Allow users to “lock-down” an
account or balance amount so no money can be removed without the use
of a special password
· Security center with detailed explanations of security measures · Fraud reporting mechanism to encourage reporting of suspicious emails or any other online irregularities · User-defined security settings · Provisional credit for established customers while investigating potential fraudulent transactions · Email user whenever money is scheduled to be transferred out of an account via bill payment, ACH, or wire · Detailed and understandable privacy policies · Credit bureau monitoring services · Statement aggregation with “account watchdogs” that monitor suspicious activity on all accounts · User-defined, triggered alerts so users are notified immediately of suspicious account activity |
| Free from errors | Process transfers, deposits, and payments flawlessly; keep me informed, because I don’t totally trust your systems; give me the benefit of the doubt while any suspected errors are investigated. | · Session tracking for users to look
back and see what they’ve done · User-defined limits that trigger an email alert if exceeded · Three email confirmations for every bill payment: (1) when
initiated, · 100% guaranteed on-time payment delivery (e.g., FedEx) · Ability to track payment status (FedEx again) · Error messages if it appears I’m doing something wrong like paying the same bill twice · Wired customer service with turnaround times measured in minutes · Illusion of real-time transaction processing1 |
|
Benefit |
User Expectations |
Example Solutions |
| Appropriately priced | Since it’s electronic and supposedly highly efficient, fees should be very low, if not 100% free | ·Free basic services with fees reserved
for optional premium services such as expedited payments · Bundled with other products to eliminate any explicit fees for online services |
| Simple to sign up and get started | Make it easy for me to sign up for the service and begin using it during my first session. | ·Allow users to track the progress of
their new account setup · Create a “play area” where users can practice online banking and bill payment with a fictional data set · Offer quick registration to “read-only” access to their account data with moderate level of authentication: account number, social security number, mother’s maiden, IP address check, etc.; but require more rigorous authentication before allowing funds transfer or bill payment out of the account, such as snail-mailed “funds transfer password” |
| Common Expectations (must be met to maintain customer satisfaction) | ||
| Easy-to-use | Intuitive interface with copy written in a friendly manner. | · Context-sensitive Help buttons · Tested for usability with actual users · Session tracking so the user can follow where they have been and what they have done (see Amazon.com’s Page You Made and Your Recent History) |
| Faster than paper (transaction turn-time) | Allow me to pay bills at the last possible moment to maximize float and/or save late charges. | · Post all transactions to the user’s
Web view to create the illusion of real-time transaction
processing1 · Encourage usage of fully electronic merchants · Guaranteed overnight payment for a fee, e.g., FedEx of a paper check |
| Saves time | Let me get my banking done quickly
without burning any brain cells so I can move on to more rewarding activities. |
· Emphasize automated bill payment
options, such as recurring payments · Monitor activity and email me when flagged balances/transactions occur · Integrate email with bill payments and outbound ACH · Preapprove additional credit in advance so I can quickly access it when needed · Remember the info I have already provided so I don’t have to reenter everything to get a new product · Personalize the Web site so that what’s important to me is just a click away · Send as much information as possible by email |
| Good customer service via Web and email | Well-written and thorough FAQs; quick response to routine emails. | · Thorough cross-referenced FAQs with
imbedded Web forms to contact customer service for more help · Prompt response to email questions, at least a same-day goal; working towards a response time measured in minutes · Email “hot line” to elevate concerns to a supervisor (could be reserved for higher value customers or users who pay a fee for premium service) · Embedded feedback options, e.g., Did this answer your question?, Is there anything else we can help you with? |
| X-factor: the “right”2 look and feel |
Modern look and well-written copy | · Provide feedback to users that
helps them obtain bragging rights about the sophisticated online
services they have mastered · Ensure that graphics and text are state-of-the-art and reinforce the bank’s core positioning · Get rid of any gratuitous “happy family” pictures3 |
|
Benefit |
User Expectations |
Example Solutions |
| Exceeding Customer Expectations (needed for improved customer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth) | ||
| Provides more control | Provide tools to control the timing and amount of each transaction. | · Multiple bill payment due-date
reminders via email · Make it easy to set up and change automatic payment/transfer options via intuitive Web-based forms · Statement aggregation with easy-to-comprehend views · Automated “sweep” function across all aggregated accounts |
| Saves money and/or earns more money | Offer a lower price or better rate; or provide more value for a similar price (“supersize that”). | · Free online banking and bill pay
bundled with other accounts such as loans and mortgages · Bill-pay fees less than the cost of stamps, either (a) less than $0.37 each (b) monthly fees of less than $3, or (c) somewhere in between · Premium package account with a laundry list of online features |
| Information delivered directly via |
Instead of requiring customers to log in and slog through their data, send timely email reminders and alerts. | · Ability to designate more than one
email address (e.g., home and work) · Alerts when balances fall below a certain level · Deposit confirmations and activity summaries · Rate-change alerts when CDs or refi rates change significantly |
| Provides something that can’t be done in off-line world | Provide a recognizable service improvement that cannot be duplicated in the traditional banking world. | · Email alerts
· Virtual loan manager · Web interface to ACH in and out of your account · Simplified account aggregation program: for example, a “credit card aggregation” service which pulls all credit cards into a single statement |
| Improves focus on what matters | Help me understand my financial situation, spending patterns, build budgets, etc. | · Statement analytics, e.g., current vs.
historical comparisons · Full suite of financial planning tools · Integrate with financial applications, such as Quicken, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Money · Email alerts based on triggered events, e.g., balance falling below a predetermined level |
| Provides more peace of mind | Reduce the anxiety surrounding bill payment and online banking. (What if I press the wrong button? Didn’t I pay that already? etc.) | · Alerts when a typical activity has not
been done, e.g. the rent has not been scheduled for payment
· Email activity summaries and alerts · Session history logs so I can easily go back and see what I have or have not done |
| Improves service | Ability to quickly and relatively effortlessly resolve problems via email and Web form | · Unless you happen to be friends with someone at your branch, most customers have no true “relationship” these days; customized online services and eReps, humans servicing a portfolio of online customers, could add a decidedly human face to the online relationship |
| Eliminates bounced checks | Make sure there are enough funds in my account (or available credit) to cover payments; if not, warn me well before I write an NSF/OD item | · Error message if it appears the payment
will bounce · Guaranteed no-bounce bill payment (e.g., overdraft protection) · Choice of payment options (multiple checking accounts, credit cards, and credit lines) |
Source: Online Banking Report, 10/02
1We call it the illusion of real-time processing, because users don’t so much care whether a transaction is processed in real-time, what they care about is that they can SEE that you have accepted their transaction and have adjusted balances accordingly; the actual debits and credits can be handled behind the scenes in batch mode.
2It’s extremely difficult to describe what’s “right” in words, but , we know it when we see it.
3While pictures of happy people in branch signage and take-one brochures make your bank seem more user-friendly, it works just the opposite on the Web, where users may become annoyed at the wait to download pictures that have nothing to do with the product.
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