For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Banking Customers Continue Migrating Away From The Branch

Branches Are Losing Their Role As The Heart Of The Customer Relationship

by Alexander Hesse, October 28, 2009

The number of consumers visiting branches each month is falling slowly but steadily across Europe. Branch users tend to be lower-value customers who use branches mainly for day-to-day transactions like depositing and withdrawing money. Although online . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How UK Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Benjamin Ensor, October 9, 2009

The steady growth of online banking in the UK over the past decade is changing the way people use other banking channels. Half of UK adults still visit a branch each month, although the number of regular branch users has fallen. Banks' efforts to persuade . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Web Channel Has A Key Role In Cross-Selling Financial Products

by Brad Strothkamp, September 29, 2009

Forrester has published a report to help financial service product executives understand and exploit opportunities to cross-sell existing customers into broader relationships. This report is also critical for eBusiness and channel strategy professionals. . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Solving The Cross-Sell Imperative In Financial Services

Moving Beyond Desire To Actually Get Customers To Buy More

by Brad Strothkamp, September 25, 2009

The goal of cross-selling additional products to consumers is the mantra of every business executive, regardless of industry. But in financial services, it has been mostly an elusive goal: A good portion of consumers are open to buying multiple products . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

What Makes Credit Union Customers Different?

Greater Loyalty, More Trust, And Higher Interest In Product Purchase

by Brad Strothkamp, Peter Wannemacher, May 13, 2009

US credit unions currently serve more than 90 million members and control 18% of the US checking account market. Credit union customers tend to own more financial products and are more likely to bank, view statements, and pay bills online than customers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

What US Mass-Affluent Investors Want From Their Investment Firms' Web Sites

Account And Portfolio Data Remain Most Important

by Bill Doyle, Peter Wannemacher, April 9, 2009

Mass-affluent investors represent one-third of all US households and control about the same proportion of retail investment assets. Four in five online mass-affluent investors have visited their primary investment firm's Web site, and the majority have . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Electronic Alerts To Deepen Financial Customer Relationships

Target Channel And Content Preferences To Drive Demand

by Edward Kountz, March 13, 2009

US financial institutions seeking to deepen relationships through improved customer communications are deploying proactive email and SMS alerts. In tight economic times, this strategy offers a way to deepen relationships with key customers by enabling . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience And Loyalty: A Closer Look

Impact Of Usefulness, Ease Of Use, And Enjoyability Differs Across Industries

by Bruce D. Temkin, March 6, 2009

Forrester examined the correlation between customer experience and loyalty across 12 industries: airlines, banks, cell phone service providers, credit card providers, hotels, insurance firms, Internet service providers, investment firms, medical insurance . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Recession's Impact On US Consumers' Financial Behavior

The Crisis Affects Consumers' Likelihood To Switch Banks And Use Credit

by Edward Kountz, Peter Wannemacher, February 24, 2009

More than half of all US online adults say their personal financial situation has gotten worse in the past 12 months. Just one-third of these consumers think their circumstances will improve in 2009. There is some good news for banking executives though: . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: New York Life's eBusiness And Agents Live Happily Ever After

A Revamped eBusiness Strategy Scores By Selling The Agent Appointment

by Chad Mitchell, February 20, 2009

In 2001, New York Life Insurance's Web site, which was intended for communication, education, and service, was not meeting its customers' or agents' needs. Web analytics showed that customers were trying to use the Web site to connect with agents, yet . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Correlates To Loyalty

Customer Experience Is Even More Correlated To Loyalty Than Last Year

by Bruce D. Temkin, February 17, 2009

Using data from nearly 4,700 consumer surveys, Forrester examined the correlation between the customer experiences delivered by more than 100 US firms and the loyalty of their customers. Our analysis shows that good customer experience correlates to consumers' . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

What US Affluent Investors Want From Their Investment Firms' Web Sites

Account Data Is Most Important, With Vanguard Rated Highest For Quality

by Bill Doyle, Peter Wannemacher, February 12, 2009

More than three-quarters of all US online affluent investors use their investment firms' Web sites, up from two-thirds in 2005. What site features do they value most? Balances and holdings are by far the most important. Online trading has also become . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Lessons In How To Retain Financial Services Customers

Insights From Industry Keynote Presentations At Forrester's 2008 Finance Forum

by Bill Doyle, December 8, 2008

In times of crisis, smart financial services firms focus on the customers they already have. Smart channel strategy executives do their part by delivering superior customer experiences. At Forrester's 2008 Financial Services Forum For Marketing And Strategy . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Bank Branches Are Here To Stay — But With Key Differences

High-Tech Will Drive High-Touch Banking

by Jost Hoppermann, September 19, 2008

An increasing number of banks are working on their long-term business and IT visions of the future, continually realigning their IT strategies. To help enterprise architects better understand the business and IT environment of the future, Forrester surveyed . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Banks' Cross-Channel Experience, 2008

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Bruce D. Temkin, July 18, 2008

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large US banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo. As an industry, the banks scored slightly above average compared with other . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Customer Advocacy 2008: How US Consumers Rate Their Banks, Brokerages, And Insurers

by Bill Doyle, June 23, 2008

Consumers who rate their financial services providers high on customer advocacy are more likely to consider those firms for additional financial products. USAA customers give their firm the highest rating, as they have for each of the past four years. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Charles Schwab Storms Back By Focusing On Customer Loyalty

by Bill Doyle, May 21, 2008

After stumbling badly in the early 2000s, Charles Schwab bounced back, thanks to a strategy built around customer advocacy and loyalty. The strategy of driving organic growth by doing what's right for customers led senior management to sharpen pricing, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Sales Success Needs Customer Advocacy

Sales Strategies For The German Retail Banking Market

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., April 17, 2008

Sales strategies in the German retail banking market range from passive customer advocacy to extreme sales orientation. The sales success of some of the sales-oriented banks begs the question of whether sales success needs customer advocacy at all. We . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Topic Overview: Customer Advocacy

by Bill Doyle, November 26, 2007

Forrester's research shows that a key driver of deeper customer relationships is a trait we call "customer advocacy" — the perception on the part of customers that a firm does what's best for them, not just what's best for its own bottom line. When customers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Canadians Rate Their Banks On Customer Advocacy

by Bill Doyle, November 15, 2007

Forrester's research shows that a key driver of deeper customer relationships is a trait we call "customer advocacy," the perception by customers that a firm has their best interests at heart. When Canadian customers rate their banks on customer advocacy, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Customer Advocacy 2007: How Customers Rate European Banks

by Benjamin Ensor, November 2, 2007

Customers who see their main bank as a customer advocate that does what's best for them, and not just what's best for its profits, are more likely to consider it for future financial purchases. On average, only 27% of Western European adults believe that . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The UK's Nationwide Puts Its Members First

A Case Study In Experience-Based Differentiation

by Benjamin Ensor, August 15, 2007

In the late 1990s, the UK's Nationwide Building Society faced a challenge — many members were pushing the institution toward demutualization. Nationwide rebuffed this move by improving its customers' experience — changing its products, pricing, marketing, . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

New Bank Rewards Programs Improve Customer Retention

Another Way To Keep Customers Until Relationship-Based Pricing Is Available

by Mary Pilecki, July 19, 2007

Credit card loyalty programs are very popular with financial institutions, much like retailer loyalty programs. But banks are looking for new ways to retain customers and are expanding their rewards programs into other banking relationships, tied together . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Customer Advocacy 2007: How Customers Rate Banks, Brokerages, Insurers, and Credit Card Issuers

by Bill Doyle, June 25, 2007

Customer advocacy drives real loyalty — a willingness to buy and borrow more from, and save and invest more with, a firm that a consumer already uses. When consumers rate their financial institutions on customer advocacy, insurers rank highest, led by . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Financial Services Institutions Should Tackle Price Optimization

by Mary Pilecki, February 15, 2007

Retail financial services institutions (FSIs) continue to struggle to increase share of wallet. But the majority of consumers don't believe that their FSIs are rewarding them appropriately for their current relationship — so why buy more? Financial institutions . . .