Web Site Add-On Offers Info to Customers-and to Banks About Them

Facing the common question of how to make Web site visitors return for more, North Dallas Bank and Trust Co. turned to Ignite Sales Inc.'s MoneyMatch program.

"We were looking for something fun, so customers won't visit one time and never come back," said Sam Renshaw, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of the $500 million-asset bank.

MoneyMatch will serve as "a welcome service for our clients, allowing them to gain insight into the ways others in similar financial situations save, spend, and borrow money," Mr. Renshaw said.

Visitors to the bank's Web site, which is under construction and due to go live this month, "will be able to use MoneyMatch to make smarter, better-informed decisions about their finances and about our institutions' services," the executive added.

Attracting and retaining customers is dicey on the Internet, where any other site is an easy click away. Some financial institutions are asserting their community roots and including local-events calendars and school lunch menus on their Web pages. Others want to create on-line communities where customers can discuss and explore anything from services to financial news.

North Dallas Bank will offer only general bank information at first. It plans to introduce a fully transactional home banking service within a few months.

But MoneyMatch, linked to the North Dallas Web site, will help customers figure out how much they might need to save for vacations, how long it would take to pay off credit card debts, or how their financial picture compares with others'.

It also will provide information on loans, savings, and investments, and on the rates and services of North Dallas Bank.

Ignite Sales will charge the bank for each customer using MoneyMatch. The bank is the 19-month-old company's first client.

MoneyMatch matches banks' customers to their products, said Julie Hamrick, president of Dallas-based Ignite. "As customers go through the site and answer questions, they can see how they can improve their financial condition and learn which bank products can help them."

The service will also help the bank to understand customers better. MoneyMatch will provide reports on how they peruse the system.

North Dallas tracks the services and products each customer uses. MoneyMatch will help identify those interested in buying cars, taking out loans, or saving for retirement, Mr. Renshaw said.

Banks can follow up on these reports with calls or promotional letters- targeted marketing that can increase revenue, Ms. Hamrick said.

MoneyMatch "captures the customers at the moment when they realize the need," she said.

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