Javelin Strategy and Research warned four years ago that despite growing consumer interest in alerts, their growth was not assured: "Bank and card issuers must continue to make alerts as easy to manage and cull as they are to initially activate. Products should be designed so that alerts don't become 'white noise.' "
Sure enough, two years later Forrester reported waning interest: Only 24% of online consumers of financial services used alerts. Fifty-three percent didn't want alerts for bank balances. And they didn't want to pay for alerts via SMS messages. Due largely to insufficient product design and value, alerts were becoming generic and being ignored, like statement inserts and unsolicited direct mail.
Step forward to today. Fiserv research concluded that online banking could get a boost from mobile alerts. More than a quarter of consumers questioned would welcome mobile alerts about billing, while more than half of them said getting the alerts would cause them to sign up for mobile access to their bills.
What has changed, and how can banks make the most of the opportunity?
Online banking evolved, developing new capabilities such as customized, personalized alerts that create positive, rich customer interactions. Mobile banking turned the corner, becoming increasingly popular among the industry's most attractive customer segments. And alerts themselves changed, becoming enriched, targeted and responsive to customer needs.
Now that no online strategy can be complete without an integrated alerts strategy some guiding rules are emerging:
Make it helpful. Alerts are about enriching the customer experience, not selling bank products. Certainly, tools that do what the customer needs may well lead to more financial activity or higher balances, but alerts have to be about what the customer already cares about.
Make it relevant. The most valued alerts will be those that provide the customer with education, guidance and advice. Clearly, it is a challenge for developers to pack a ton of information into a small package. But what is the point of an alert that customers ignore because of poor design?
Make it easy. "Easy" has a narrow meaning for online and mobile customers. "When I click on the link in your alert, don't make me search or keep clicking. If I'm both a business customer and a personal customer, anticipate what I will need and put it all in one place."
Make it personal. "When I respond to your alert don't make me recall the nickname you've given my account or my status in your customer hierarchy. You have an incredible amount of information about me right there at your fingertips. Show me you know me."
Make it consistent. "Don't make me wonder if I've left your site when the look and feel changes from one line of business to another. Don't give me one interface and process for my business bills and another set for my personal bills." And if standards have taken root among consumers, honor them.
Think outside the bank. Today's customers don't compare their online banking experience to ATMs or bank branches. They compare it to eBay, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon or their company's intranet, or scores of sites they use regularly for pleasure or work.
