At launch, the site’s bounce rate decreased by 22%, while page views increased by 79%, meaning site visitors better found what they needed.
A Virtual Investment
Background
Outlook Financial launched over a decade ago as a virtual bank where you could “park your money and save for the future”. Without bricks and mortar to maintain, better rates and greater savings were passed along to members. As one of only two virtual banks in Canada at the time, Outlook was truly a leader in online banking. But manual paper-based processes for applications and transactions were inefficient and costly. Many transactions could not be completed online, resulting in high call volumes to the Member Communications Centre. Being an online bank, paper and phone-based processes were not providing the high level of ease and service expected by members.
Insight
In a market now overflowing with online banks, Outlook was not keeping up with the advances of online banking and was no longer being seen as the leader that helped forge the industry. Fusion began by conducting a competitive review of online service offerings at other virtual banks, to determine the gaps we needed to fill to regain Outlook’s position of industry leader. When we began examining Outlook’s manual processes, we discovered that the paper-based application was a huge deterrent in the membership process. Only 1/3 of introductory packages were being mailed back to Outlook to create the new accounts, resulting in numerous missed opportunities for lifelong members. If this process (and others) could be streamlined, Outlook had a better chance of converting new account openings. The Outlook website had to deliver faster, better processes and move into a new generation in technology, in order to continue to compete with the big banks. By becoming truly self-serve, members could feel confident in their decision to choose, stay and save with Outlook.
Idea
The people drawn to Outlook Financial’s superior rates had to be comfortable using the website behind them. After a thorough review, forms were consolidated, existing processes were simplified and unnecessary processes were eliminated. The site’s navigation was redesigned to make sense to both existing members managing their accounts and to easily draw potential new members through the account opening process. The new online smart form capabilities were developed to drive members and visitors through to action. The completed site was launched with an online advertising campaign, to better target potential new members who go online for many of their day-to-day activities.
Outcome
Outlook members are pleased with the simplicity of the new site. It has been built to W3C standards, and new tracking tools allow Outlook to better monitor web stats and traffic. At launch, the site’s bounce rate decreased by 22%, while page views increased by 79%, meaning site visitors better found what they needed. On and off page search engine optimization increased Outlook’s Google search ranking helping drive qualified leads. Post launch Outlook experienced record high traffic volumes resulting in considerable deposit growth. Additional benefits included a dramatic drop in call volumes to the communication centre and the estimated annual savings of $50,000 in printed materials that are no longer being produced.
