Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Top Vividence Customer Experience Rankings; Vividence Study Highlights Striking Changes and Challenges in Online Banking.

Business Editors/Advertising Editors

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2003

Vividence, the leader in customer experience market research, today announced the results of the Vividence(R) Customer Experience (CE) Rankings(TM) for Online Banking, an extensive study of leading bank Web sites.

Bank of America topped the overall rankings among both customers and prospective customers. Among current account holders, Bank of America (1), Citibank (2) and National City (3) ranked the highest in the Vividence CE Rankings. Among prospective customers, Bank of America (1), Wells Fargo (2), and National City (3) ranked the highest.

The study was one of the first major research initiatives in the banking industry to consider not only consumer opinion, but also online behaviors. Vividence monitored 4,000 consumers as they performed tasks at bank Web sites. The study then benchmarked the banks in categories such as customer satisfaction, brand impact and customer loyalty. The banks topping the Vividence CE Rankings performed best, in aggregate, across all measured indices and metrics.

Bank of America ranked highest in part because the site scored well on features such as online bill pay, while providing newcomers with an easy way to explore online banking.

The 300+ page report on the study highlights striking changes and challenges in online banking, including:

A Contrast Between Prospects vs. Customers

The study uncovered a surprising contrast in how banks performed among customers versus prospective customers. For instance, several banks made it easy for prospective clients to sign-up for new accounts; however, actual customers at these banks encountered frustrations with features such as online bill pay. Other banks garnered high satisfaction among loyal customers but frustrated prospective customers with sites that were poorly organized or daunting to explore.

Opportunities Lost in Cross Selling

Vividence researchers also found that banks do a relatively poor job of cross-selling or growing wallet share online. Customers in the study expressed that, with advances in technology, their banks should not only better understand their personal needs, but also expect their bank to proactively provide them with customized recommendations. Surprisingly, several of the largest banks performed the worst at generating customers' interest in additional bank offerings.

Difficulties Driving Online Adoption

Banks are also missing opportunities to reduce costs. According to industry estimates, a transaction in a bank branch costs approximately $1-4, whereas an online transaction costs less than $.05. The top reasons customers do not use online banking include: a belief that fees are too high (1); a preference to pay bills offline (2); and a preference to pay bills at the biller's own Web site (3).

The study showed one interesting solution for banks: Vividence found that sites with well-designed and prominently showcased customer support options performed better at driving people's likelihood to adopt online banking services.

Need for Improved Implementation vs. Increased Functionality

Although many banks are investing in new features and functionality, Vividence's analysis suggests that banks should first make sure their existing implementation actually meets customers' needs. The study found that users, on average, experience a problem almost every two minutes, which predictably engenders frustration and negatively impacts customer satisfaction. Common problems include difficulty accessing customer service and unclear instructions for online bill payment functions.

Online Experiences Impact Bank Brands

The study also found that the online experience has a strong impact on the bank's overall brand. Before users visited the Web sites, overall opinion of bank brands was low; on average, only 1 in 4 consumers expressed a positive image of their bank. However, those banks with positive online customer experience rankings significantly increased their brand image via their Web site with 3 out of 5 customers expressing a positive image after their online experience.

Bank of America, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo Web sites fostered the most positive brand impression, as measured by the Vividence Brand Impact Index.

Customer Acquisition Via the Web Still Falters

Despite the growing importance of customer acquisition via online channels, the study found that banks are still not maximizing the potential of their online sign-up tools. The study confirmed that customers are very open to switching banks and find doing so much easier in an online environment. Bank of America (1), Bank One (2) and U.S. Bank (3) performed the best in terms of potential to acquire new customers through their Web sites, as measured by the Vividence Acquisition Index.

Commentary on the Report and Online Banking

"There are a variety of trends -- consolidation, cost cutting, competition -- that are increasing the importance of the online channel to the banking industry," said Jeff Greenberg, chief executive officer, Vividence. "This research clearly shows an opportunity for banks to increase conversion to online banking, improve customer acquisition and grow wallet share by improving the consumer's online experience."

Vividence Customer Experience Rankings

Vividence Customer Experience Rankings are competitive benchmarking studies that allow companies to better understand their target customers and their competition on the Web. Vividence uses its proprietary software and a panel of thousands of real Internet users to gather the quantitative, qualitative and behavioral data that inform the reports. More than 300 metrics are captured, measured and evaluated for each site reviewed.

Web sites evaluated for the online banking study included: Bank of America, Bank One, Citibank, Chase, Fleet, National City, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.

About Vividence Corporation

Vividence is the leading provider of customer experience market research for the customer-driven enterprise. More than 250 customers, including Compaq, Dell, FedEx, General Motors, Macy's, Microsoft, Pfizer, USA Today and more than 150 of the Fortune 1000 use Vividence. For more information, please visit www.vividence.com.