For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Web Is The Critical Channel For Serving Small Business Banking Customers

eBusiness Executives Should Focus On Web Site Functionality For Support

by Brad Strothkamp, Peter Wannemacher, August 24, 2010

Small business owners know a lot about their businesses, but they often know little about how to best manage the financial aspects of those businesses. As these small businesses grow, banks can build stronger relationships with them by ensuring that they . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Canadian Insurance Customers Use Different Channels

by Ellen Carney, Peter Wannemacher, August 24, 2010

Canadians still use the phone as their primary channel for insurance. In fact, the phone was the only channel used by a majority of online Canadian insurance customers in the past year, while fewer than one in three customers used an insurer's Web site . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Banks Should Start Adding Customer Ratings And Reviews To Their Sites

European Online Financial Researchers Want Ratings And Reviews

by Alexander Hesse, August 16, 2010

European online financial researchers look for customer ratings and reviews. They tend to trust them and find them valuable for making better buying decisions. Although a range of North American financial services firms offer customer ratings and reviews . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Polish Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Alexander Hesse, August 10, 2010

The Polish retail financial services market is characterized by strong growth and fierce competition among a large number of banks, many of them foreign-owned. With current account ownership growing from 44% to 58% and Internet adoption growing from 39% . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Hot Insurance Tech Companies To Watch In 2010: Q2 Update

by Ellen Carney, July 29, 2010

Effective vertical strategies are becoming more critical for tech vendors as they try to address the core business problems — not just the pure technical problems — of their customers. This is especially evident in the insurance industry, which emerged . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How US Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Emmett Higdon, Peter Wannemacher, July 26, 2010

The percentage of US adults who bank online has risen from 51% in 2005 to 59% today. This steady growth has changed the way customers use other channels like branches, automated teller machines (ATMs), and the phone. In addition, multichannel banking . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Wells Fargo Proves The Business Case For Online Chat

Wells Fargo's Second Attempt At Online Chat Finds Incremental Success

by Brad Strothkamp, July 21, 2010

Wells Fargo was a pioneer in the use of online chat in 2002. While that initial move into live help met with mixed results, the desire on the team's part to inject human assistance into the process of shopping online for lending products never faded. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Hot Banking Tech Companies To Watch In 2010: Q2 Update

by Ellen Carney, July 16, 2010

Focusing on solving the core industry-specific business problems is the next big wave in the tech industry. Nowhere is it more evident of technology's unique role in solving business problems than in the highly tech-dependent banking market. The outlook . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

What Financial Functionality US Consumers Want On Mobile Devices

Nail The Basics To Quickly Expose The Value Of The Channel

by Emmett Higdon, Peter Wannemacher, July 12, 2010

In the US, adoption of mobile financial services is rising: 11% of US online adults are now mobile bankers and 7% of those with investment accounts are mobile investors, although just 3% of online adults have interacted with their insurer via mobile in . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

BBVA Makes Online Banking Customized, Aggregated, Relevant, And Social

CARS Improves Customer Experience And Supports The Bank's Growth Strategy

by Jonathan Browne, July 8, 2010

Forrester has predicted that the next generation of online experiences will be customized, aggregated, relevant, and social (CARS). We can already see early examples of companies that are transforming their digital offerings with these attributes. At . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Smart Computing Fuels Biometrics Growth

How Biometrics Enable Smart Computing Solutions

by Heidi Shey, July 7, 2010

Biometrics is already a growing market today in a variety of applications. Smart Computing will help to fuel biometrics growth as smart applications call for a greater level of security and accountability in order to be enabled and accepted. As the tech . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

eBusiness Leaders: It's Time To Take Financial Service Comparison Web Sites Seriously

Usage Is Rising Driven By First-Time Users And Younger Generations

by Brad Strothkamp, Peter Wannemacher, June 29, 2010

In 2009, 21% of financial product online applicants — more than 50 million Americans — used a third-party online comparison Web site, and 36% of these applicants did so for the first time. We found that 38% of first-time comparison site users say they . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Benchmarking UK Banks' Sales Sites, 2010

The Co-Operative Bank Has The Best Content And Functionality

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., June 16, 2010

Forrester evaluated the Web sites of the 10 largest UK retail banking brands — Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, first direct, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, The Co-operative Bank, and Yorkshire Bank — using our Web Site Functionality Benchmark methodology. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Web Site User Experience 2010: UK Banks

Forrester Applies Its Web Site User Experience Review Methodology To Four Top UK Banks

by Jonathan Browne, June 16, 2010

Forrester evaluated the user experience at the public-facing Web sites of the four leading UK banks by share of primary current accounts: Lloyds TSB, Barclays Bank, NatWest, and HSBC Bank. No site passed our review, but overall scores were above average. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2010 US Auto Insurance Secure Site Rankings

Progressive Secures The Top Position, Barely Edging Out GEICO

by Chad Mitchell, June 14, 2010

Forrester evaluated the secure Web sites of the four largest US private passenger auto insurance providers — Allstate Insurance, GEICO, Progressive Casualty Insurance, and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance — using our Web Site User Experience and . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Satisfied Are Consumers With Web Site Experiences In 2010?

Consumers Rate Their Satisfaction With 87 Web Sites Across 13 Industries

by Megan Burns, June 14, 2010

Forrester recently asked US online consumers to rate their satisfaction with Web site experiences at companies they've done business with across multiple industries. When the results were tallied, retail and financial services dominated the top 10 rankings. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Ten Ways To Maximize Cross-Selling Of Financial Products Online

Frequency Of Use Requires eBusiness To Take The Lead In Cross-Selling

by Brad Strothkamp, June 11, 2010

The Web plays a central role in the lives of today's financial consumers. Consumers use this channel as the primary method of servicing their accounts and researching financial products for purchase. A financial provider has more ongoing "touches" with . . .

For Market Research Professionals

How Global Consumers Are Adopting Online Banking

A Technographics® Global Snapshot

by Jacqueline Anderson, June 9, 2010

More consumers are adopting online financial activities worldwide, but online banking adoption rates vary greatly. Whereas Asia Pacific countries tend to lead in the adoption of many online activities, it's actually Western Europeans who are setting the . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Polish Consumers Use The Net To Research And Buy Financial Products

Some Polish Net Users Research, But Few Buy Financial Products Online

by Alexander Hesse, June 4, 2010

Few Polish consumers turn to the Web to research or buy financial products — but their numbers are growing fast. In Q2 2005, 7% of Polish adults had researched and only 1% had bought a financial product online; these proportions grew to 10% and 2%, respectively, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Financial Services Web Sites Should Offer Product Comparisons

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., June 3, 2010

Offering product comparisons is an effective way for financial services eBusiness executives to support sales, build trust, and offer customers an alternative to external price comparison Web sites. To gain these benefits, eBusiness executives need to . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Banks Should Consider Adding Personal Financial Management To Their Secure Sites

by Alexander Hesse, May 20, 2010

Intrigued by the success of third-party personal financial management (PFM) sites like Mint.com in the US, eBusiness professionals at European banks are considering adding similar functionality to their own sites. Our data shows that more than three out . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Banking On Social Sites Is A Work In Progress

Privacy And Security Concerns Must Be Satisfied To Tap Emerging Demand

by Emmett Higdon, May 19, 2010

More than 250 financial institutions from 40 different countries have joined Facebook, looking for friends and future customers while testing the social networking waters. While many of these banks have seen moderate success in engaging customers in discussions . . .

For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

Solution Overview: Internet/Multichannel Banking Platforms

by Jost Hoppermann, May 18, 2010

Forrester surveyed a total of 16 vendors offering a variety of different Internet/multichannel banking solutions. The overall outcome? Many of the solutions enable multichannel business processes by supporting interactions and transactions across various . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Web Site User Experience 2010: US Banks

Forrester Applies Its Web Site User Experience Review Methodology To Six Top US Banks

by Harley Manning, April 30, 2010

Forrester evaluated the user experience at the public-facing Web sites of the six leading US banks by assets: Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC Financial Services, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. Overall scores were high, compared with the average for US . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2010 US Bank Public Web Site Rankings

Bank Of America And Citibank Take The Top Spot For 2010

by Brad Strothkamp, April 30, 2010

Forrester evaluated the public Web sites of the six largest US banks — Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC Financial Services, US Bank, and Wells Fargo — using our Web Site User Experience and Functionality Benchmark (WSB) methodology. Bank of America . . .