A recent Transform study into the online capabilities of the UK's building societies highlighted some key issues that need to be addressed if they are to retain customers and grow their revenues through online channels. In this presentation Transform talks through ten key steps that can be taken to improve the online experience for consumers and ultimately lead to enhanced loyalty and profitability. This presentation was presented as a webinar which you can view here: https://vimeo.com/99632920

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TEN WAYS TO IMPROVE THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE
• Chair: Johan Hogsander
Deputy Managing Director
Transform
• Presenter: Simon Kirby
Associate
Transform
Please Note:
• You can submit questions during the
webinar using the panel on the right
hand side of your screen
• This webinar is being recorded

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Our research
• Digitally Mutual – research into the
online capabilities of the UK’s
building societies
• Tested 22 factors that drive
customer experience online
• Ranked all 52 building societies
• Press coverage in various
publications including FT Adviser,
FS Tech and Finextra
DIGITAL MATURITY
BENCHMARK
PRESENTING
INFORMATION
ONLINE
SALES
ONLINE
SERVICE
CHANNEL
INTEGRATION
DIGITAL
INNOVATION
1
2
3
4
5

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Principle 1: QUEUEING OUT OF THE DOOR

4. 4
Principle 1: QUEUEING OUT OF THE DOOR
• The purpose of an online
transaction form is to make it
easy to buy
• It’s not a general data capture
mechanism nor a communication
device

5. 5
Principle 1: Make it VERY easy to buy
Source: Transform analysis
37
31
26
26
22
21
20
19
16
9
11
5
8
7
8
9
7
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Scottish
Friendly
Sheffield Mutual
Police Mutual
Teachers
Assurance
Foresters
Friendly
Wesleyan
Assurance
Shepherds
Friendly
Virgin Money
MetFriendly
Clickstocompletepurchase
Questionstocompletepurchase
Questions
Clicks

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Principle 2: WHAT’S IN AND WHAT’S OUT?

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Principle 2: Eliminate non-essential form questions
• Form completion declines with
each additional question asked
• As a rule of thumb, we suggest a
design rule in which every
question is given a cost in terms
of % of lost conversion
• Some types of form control are
more prone to drop-out than
others
Source: Hubspot

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Principle 3: THE NATURE OF LAZINESS

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Principle 3: THE NATURE OF LAZINESS
• Online users are ruthlessly
efficient in the way they use
sites
• Hard to find information is one
of the biggest causes of drop-out

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Principle 3: Don’t make users work harder than they have to
• Common pain points include:
– National Insurance numbers
– Membership numbers
• Either design these out or use
manual follow-ups
✖

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Principle 3: Don’t make users work harder than they have to
✔

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Principle 4: DO YOU WANT A RELATIONSHIP?

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Principle 4: Don’t assume that users want a relationship
• We may want a relationship with
customers but often customers
just want to transact
• Online accounts trigger anxiety
about privacy
• Some studies (eBay) suggest that
removing the need for an account
to buy increased conversion by
24%
• Best practice:

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Leave account registration until after the purchase for new
customers

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Principle 5: EASY AS…

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Principle 5: Make login credentials easy
• Unless your service is very high
touch, customers are unlikely to
remember a customer number ID
• Put some security parameters
into the password. Up to 40% of
users may choose very weak
passwords
• Consider two-factor
authentication

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Principle 6: I’M USED TO GOOD DESIGN

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Principle 6: Conform to modern form design standards
• Web users’ expectations are set
by their online experiences with
Google, Amazon, Apple, etc.
• This engrains expectations of
form design
• There are probably over 150
design and usability standards for
good form design
• Use them!

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Principle 7: COMPLIANT AND UNIQUE

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Principle 7: Comply, but elegantly
• Over-intrusive T&Cs defeat
compliance, commercial and
customer goals
• The general principles of service
design, usability and compliance are
fundamentally the same – things
should be clear, easy and highly
usable for members/customers
• This requires the right relationship
between business and compliance
Source: Transform analysis

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Principle 8: GO WHERE THE EYEBALLS ARE

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Principle 8: Use facial imagery
• Eye tracking studies have found that facial imagery can increase conversion
by up to 95% and also perceived trust
Source: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/human-landing-
page-increase-conversion-rate/

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Principle 9: CLEAR COPY

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Principle 9: Text is the user interface
• Strive for simplicity
• Appropriate formality; retail
financial services typically needs
a ‘central’ position
• Clarity of description. Ensure
menus “do what it says on the
tin” rather than using, e.g.
unclear product brand namesß Formality à

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Principle 10: TOES IN THE WATER

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Principle 10: Interaction makes users more likely to buy

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ANY QUESTIONS?
• Please submit any questions using
the webinar control panel
• If you would like to discuss any of the
content from today’s webinar please feel
free to get in touch directly
Email: johan.hogsander@transformUK.com