We recently completed a five-month weekly tracking audit of the home pages of the largest financial services firms in the US and Europe. Our goal was to see if and how these companies, which are already in the hot seat and presumably anxious to positively connect with customers in every way possible (i.e., ensure their advocates remain advocates), were using prime real estate to address the global financial crisis and reassure customers during this time of great turmoil.
When we started the audit in mid-October 2008 we found that just 27% of 57 companies referred to the crisis. We gave them the benefit of the doubt, given it was such a tumultous week, and assumed that as they got their bearings they would increase their communications. Over the next few weeks, as another few financial institutions went out of business (we ended up with 55), the percent of home page crisis communicators inched up slowly to where eventually four in 10 mentioned the economic crisis on their home page. Our final audit was February 28, 2009 and some had ceased their home page communications, landing at 34%. That means a solid two-thirds were not mentioning one word on their home pages about the crisis at the end of February.
Why do we think its important for the financial sector to pull out all the stops to acknowledge consumers’ fears about the crisis? For one thing, a Boston Consulting Group study released results from a recent U.S. study that suggested financial services providers can diminish defections by simply communicating with consumers. It found that consumers want factual reassurance. Further, exactly half of the survey respondents said the economic crisis has caused them to lose trust in their investment/brokerage firms, followed by investment advisors and banks (46% each).
Barb Iverson, president of Weber Shandwick’s financial services industry practice group, commented about our research: “It is not enough for leading financial services companies to communicate only in good times. Our ongoing analysis leads us to recommend to financial services companies that they use their low-cost/high-impact home pages to communicate more directly and personally with their stakeholders by acknowledging and addressing customer and investor financial concerns.”
It seems that financial services firms should at least let their customers, and potential customers, know their angst is acknowledged and respected. Otherwise advocates might take their advocacy elsewhere.
Sumber: http://allaboutadvocacy.com/Elizabeth Rizzo
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