Why Ads? 

Building Banking Relationships
with Generation X  

© Sorcha Ni hEilidhe, September 1998

This week Fletcher Research released a report on the development of the UK banking industry online which found that UK banks are significantly behind European banks who are in turn significantly behind US banks.One of the biggest issues facing banks in Europe is the need to respond to the demands of the emerging Internet elite who wish to bank online.

The average Net user, aged between 20 and 40 is educated to third level and is well salaried and keen to invest, represents a perfect potential customer for banks to build a relationship with. Despite this banks have shown reluctance to target this section of society. Perhaps this is because the culture of financial institutions and banking is relatively conservative compared to the emerging online culture which values youth and freedom.

There are a number of banks maintaining "zero presence" Web sites, which typically comprise large graphics of the banks headquarters coupled with public relations print brochure material. These Web sites tend to emerge in the first phase of any institution going online and are possibly the worst type of Web site on the Internet due to their lack of interactivity and huge download times.

In order for banks to compete online they need to think about expanding and leveraging existing relationships with customers. The transfer from brick & mortar to virtual space has the potential to inflate existing loyalties, it also has the potential to alienate existing customers.

Banks will increasingly have to look at their personalities as opposed what exact services they are offering. In an online world, it's not good enough to provide a good service, in order for businesses and companies to really succeed they have to develop sophisticated relationships with customers. If everybody is offering the same services, customers will look for something "other".

It is inevitable that there will be a surge of banks online who do understand the fundamental needs of the emerging Net elite and they will not hesitate to capitalise on Net users who feel insecure about where their particular bank is headed online.

In an online environment the old paradigm of "banking for life" is not necessarily redundant but banks will have to work harder to achieve the same lifetime loyalty from generation X as they did from the Baby Boomers.

Is mise le meas,

Sorcha Ni hEilidhe

About the Author

Sorcha Ni hEilidhe is the Editor of the NUA Internet Surveys.

NUA Ltd is a vibrant, innovative, Irish company whose focus is in helping progressive organisations adapt to the new environment created by the Internet. We have the management/marketing, design and technical skills to truly understand your unique situation, and to translate that understanding into a successful Internet presence for you.

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