Banks should be more consumer-centric and aim to build customer loyalty by starting their own blogs, according to research by Javelin Strategy.
Their research suggests that 20% of US consumers read blogs, rising to 34% of affluent, tech-savvy ones.
Apparently, less than 1% of all financial institutions have their own blogs, and Javelin believe that a bank’s website needs to be more than simply functional. It needs to match the refurbishment of bricks-and-mortar branches that many banks have recently undertaken to make them more appealing to customers.
When banks offer many of the same services, only what extras they offer will differentiate them. Starting a blog will make the bank seem less formal, and perhaps more inviting, particularly to younger customers who rarely visit a branch.
Of all the institutions I’d want to see blogging, banks aren’t high up on my list. I’m quite happy for them to be functional and don’t really want another opportunity for them to charge me or try to sell me something. Maybe I’m just being cynical?
