Finally someone else makes the call on the demise of branch banking. Jim Bruene, the Seattle-based publisher of Online Banking Report has been a visionary, and a beliver in Online Banking since the beginning, or at least as long as I remember back in the mid 90's, when online banking began. Unfortunately, its became de rigeur today whenever anyone says branches will disappear, the answer is, didn't we try that with mbanx, wingspan, toysr'us" (pick your virtual failure). So lets look at this carefully. Branches becoming window dressing for banks Bruene does believe we are at the midpoint of a … Continue reading Branches becoming window dressing for banks

Dealing with Gen Y is at the root of the changes we see and can expect in how Banks must interact with their customers.  Everything that I have been writing here is magnified many times, when you zero in on this generation. RedOrbit – Technology – Banks Give a Shout-Out to Gen Y: Young Adults Have Own Expectations, and Banks Are Rushing to Meet Them “They shop online, they do their research online, they’re on the Internet,” said Lisa Phillips, a senior analyst with eMarketer Inc., a market research firm. “Once they start banking online, they get to feel more … Continue reading Do it their way

Interesting piece here, that suggests a large percentage of online banking users are defecting from the service for a variety of reasons, from security to lost passwords.  This is something that we have to get a grip on, because the rapid rise of customers using the service is masking the defectors. Forrester Research: Why Half Of Europe’s Net Users Don’t Bank Online Nearly half of Europe’s Net users now bank online.   But the other half — 80 million Net users — have either tried online banking and given up or have never banked online. Banks are losing online banking users … Continue reading Why Half Of Europe’s Net Users Don’t Bank Online

Just when “advanced” thinkers and marketers thought they had it all figured out, it sounds like teens are moving on from MySpace. MySpace No Longer Their Space? – New York Times BRANDS, for teenagers, are fleeting things. For big, slow-moving corporations, this presents a problem. When Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation acquired the community site MySpace nearly a year ago, the site was at the height of its popularity. But now there are indications that the teenagers who made MySpace cool may be moving on to other things. But there are reasons, and teens aren’t stupid. Popularity with a mainstream audience … Continue reading MySpace No Longer Their Space?

Randy shows the result of his unofficial newsreader survey.  I observed three things: My newsreader, GreatNews is far and away the best Firefox Live Bookmarks suck Of the two big web based readers, Bloglines blows Newsgator out of the park If you want to try RSS feeds, and are new to it, try Greatnews. RSS Reader Survery – The RSS Blog Reader                     % Favorite GreatNews                     86% Bloglines                         39% Attensa for Outlook        33% NetNewswire                  33% News Alloy     … Continue reading Best RSS newsreader – GreatNews

Bank of America display a best practise here, with money remaining in the customers account until the biller receives it. Pay Bills With a Click? More Americans Are Doing It and Banks Are Loving It – New York Times Earlier this year, Bank of America also changed its system so the customer’s money remains in his account until the biller has deposited the payment. In years past, the customers’ checking account was immediately debited. Other banks are also developing systems where customers can pay bills at the last minute and have the biller paid instantly. Online Resources, an online bill … Continue reading Bill payment evolves

Most banks use customer segmentation models, whereas design personas are better suited to web design.  They align stakeholders behind a shared understanding of the customer.  I’d argue they also support product design too. Forrester Research: How Design Personas Differ From Typical Customer Segmentation Models Traditional customer segmentation models don’t provide the key information about users’ goals, attitudes and behaviors that is required for effective interaction design — personas do. Valid personas are derived from primary user research, foster a shared point of view among the diverse group of people who impact the customer experience, and enable design decisions. To make … Continue reading How Design Personas Differ From Typical Customer Segmentation Models

Great piece of research just released at Forrester, by Christine Spivey Overby, with Carrie A. Johnson, & Brian Tesch.  This makes the point very objectively for re-considering marketing.  While marketing claim to be the voice of the customer, they are not hearing the message, and in fact are completely ill-equipped to do that today. Forrester Research: The Essentials Of Consumer-Driven Innovation Marketers live by “the voice of the customer.” But shifts in consumer behavior and the high failure rate of products, services, and experiences suggest that companies must re-evaluate their listening techniques. Products are failing, and trust in brands is … Continue reading The Essentials Of Consumer-Driven Innovation