Financial services companies get web priorities wrong

According to the US report, four times as many business leaders said they are more interested in increasing their mobile and online offerings than did the number of business leaders who said making their sites more user-friendly is a priority. Jupiter analysts warn that financial services businesses will lose major market share if they fail to offer integrated, customised and simplified online offerings that better suit customer needs.

"Major financial institutions are in a race to outdo one another by developing new on-line and wireless products to gain market leadership, but are leaving usability and customer satisfaction in the backseat," said James Van Dyke, a Jupiter analyst. "For financial institutions, the key to winning in this economy is to simplify and integrate basic services, such as banking and lending, insurance, investment and payments."

Jupiter analysts offer the following advice for financial institutions that want to maximise their on-line offerings by meeting customers' needs:

Invest heavily in personalisation and customisation capabilities. According to Jupiter analysts, financial companies must present each customer with unique offerings based not only on explicitly requested services, but also on additional content and services from gathered usage data.

Position on-line products based on customer needs, not as the latest technology. Financial institutions must accommodate the customer's experience by integrating basic needs such as banking and lending, insurance, investment and payments, into one simple interface.

Invest in integration of disparate systems and capabilities in order to minimise the growing complexity found in today's on-line financial services web sites. Companies can drive higher customer activation and asset retention by elevating the quality of customer experience over the quantity of new products and features.