Syndicated Report: KLI Mobile Banking Competitive Review

THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

Consumers drive technological advancement in the banking industry and in the past 18 months they have driven the top US banks to offer complete mobile programs with a variety of services to meet the needs of this on-the-go audience.
The evolution of banking tools began with the ability to receive a text message to your feature phone with your balance information.  Since, we’ve seen tremendous expansion as mobile solutions have evolved to encompass features like visual check capture, debit card deactivation, person to person payments and have even begun expansion to include offers in the past month.  As the teller lines get shorter at the brick and mortar locations, this broad feature list has become an element of attraction and retention of consumers for banking institutions.
Additionally, as the leaders pave the way, regional banks and credit unions observe and mimic solutions that prove successful.
INFORMATION TO OUR CUSTOMERS AHEAD
The Mobile Banking Competitive Review by Key Lime Interactive summarizes these new, successful and well received features across the industry so that both the leaders and the small institutions can make at-a-glance decisions about areas that they should work to improve to satisfy their existing and prospective customers.  KLI’s research experts highlight opportunities that they discover in their evaluation and ultimately assist in moving the entire industry forward.

In a detailed report KLI profiles the competitive mobile landscape of six of the top US retail banks: Bank of America, Chase (JP Morgan Chase), Citibank (Citigroup), Wells Fargo & Company, USAA and PNC and ultimately reveals which bank offers their consumers the best mobile solutions.
This includes a general discussion about what these banks are doing to provide for their retail banking customers via mobile optimized sites and apps (iOS and Android).  Data is captured from real customers of each bank and includes screenshots of features from behind the login screens of each provider.
Additionally, KLI shares the methods employed to rank the banks based on consumers’ self-reported preferences and insights; provides a best-in-class feature list, as well as a comparative list of the available features of the six; and identify trends and opportunities that bridge the gap between consumer expectations and the current banking solutions.  This consumer based solution differs from other syndicated reports as KLI uses these consumers’ preferences to weigh the importance of features.
METHODOLOGY
An expert capabilities assessment, comparative feature ranking, and user ratings were combined to determine an overall score and ranking.
User feedback was incorporated by gathering responses from users (n=500), to understand which features and tasks were must-haves when it comes to interacting with the mobile property of a retail bank.  From those results KLI prioritized user’s needs and preferences, and then placed the features into four tiers relative to importance and these tiers played a part into the weighted score we awarded each feature when tabulating a final score for each mobile property.  Additional information about the logic included in our scoring algorithm is detailed the full report.
For more information or to reserve your copy reach out to our sales team at sales@keylimeinteractive.com
 

Toyota.com outperforms Chevrolet.com as a Tool for Fuel Efficient Vehicle Comparison

Key Lime Interactive (KLI) conducted a short study that revealed 10+ opportunities for improvement on the websites of the Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Volt and Others.
We’re witnessing constant media coverage about the rising gas prices as we move into the warmer months.  Therefore, now is an excellent time for automobile retailers to leverage their websites to highlight their fuel economy as they present their products to prospective consumers.
KLI compared and contrasted the websites of two compact vehicles that were reported to be top of mind when considering a fuel efficient choice.  By observing and analyzing user interaction with the Toyota.com (Prius) and Chevrolet.com (Volt), researchers were able to identify ways that these auto retailers, and others, can improve their layout, messaging and calls to action to increase conversion.
Participants were asked: “Do today’s shoppers find it easy to compare a fuel efficient vehicle to the competitors in the same class?”, “Which variables are critical for a quick comparison of various vehicle options? “, “Do we have a list of recommendations from the mouths of our consumers to enhance these websites?”
Eye tracking scan paths were recorded using TechSmith’s Morae with an Eye Tracking Plug-In by Visual Interaction.  Morae’s Observer component allowed these paths to be observed remotely, allowing researchers to evaluate gaze patterns, providing additional insight not otherwise revealed with traditional self-report.
Ultimately, KLI developed and reported a clear understanding of success and pain-points on the given websites and provided a list of elements that retailers should consider when creating or improving their eCommerce properties.
In summary, the Toyota website effectively provides users with quick ways to discover the fuel efficiency and overall advantages for the Prius line, whereas most participants were unsuccessful on the Chevrolet site and experienced a high level of frustration and dissatisfaction.
Users Want access to tools that help move them move closer to making a purchase.
Specifically, researcher found the mega drop down on Toyota.com to be effective in quickly providing MPG information for vehicles while the Chevrolet website lacks clarity around MPG for the Volt. Chevrolet’s website requires too many active steps to find answers to common questions and the reported satisfaction level is low.
Finally, only 20% of the participants discovered and utilized the “compare vehicles” on the Chevy website, others resorted to searching through the text rather than using the side-by-side comparison chart hidden in the website.  This lead to some strong recommendations by the researchers for improvement including the integration of comparison charts/tabular format, etc. as these are proven easy to consume visually and from an information processing perspective.   However, they must be placed in obvious locations with clear messaging to direct attention to their availability.
KLI noted this and 5 other suggestions for optimization in a detailed list of findings that can be found in this case study or by contacting sales@keylimeinteractive.com

Hispanic User Experience: Testing the Latinos

With 16% of the US Population being of Hispanic or Latino origin, it is no surprise that more and more websites, mobile sites, and mobile applications are being localized to Spanish. Similarly it is no surprise that more and more companies are quickly learning that simply translating one-for-one their English content is not sufficient. Conducting user research to gain insight on how such translation should work is critical for the success of these sites, especially since Hispanics behave differently than the general population.
You may be asking yourself, how do Hispanics behave differently, specifically in the digital world, than me? Hispanics are family and community oriented consumers, they often will make a purchase with input from several key family members, especially for larger dollar purchases. Family opinions often influence brand perceptions.
We agree with researchers who contend that most Hispanics are fully acculturated by the time they have spent 2/3 of their lives in the US. But to us this simply implies that it’s it’s necessary to test all relevant segments to help our customers target their content/product to Spanish-speaking users with family and cultural influencers.
When conducting research with Hispanic users we always take into consideration how acculturated the users are, which typically consists of a list of questions that will help to segment the users based on factors such as language, years in the US, degree to which they retain elements of their home culture, etc. Our Hispanic Acculturation Spectrum Model places Hispanics that speak little to no English on one end and those that speak little to no Spanish on the other end. This method has been valuable for us as we look at the differences between these two audiences. It helps us to inform appropriate design; features that meet the needs of the middle spectrum are included in both language versions of digital properties, while studies with users who reside at the ends of the spectrum may help us identify target specific needs. Otherwise a large portion of their potential clientele is being ignored. Companies who are just now considering the mobile Spanish market are behind and those who simply translate versus consider the behavioral differences of these users will find themselves even farther behind.
The time is now to create your Spanish presence:
We find that most of our current research in the Latino market is on the Spanish version of a website or is related to a physical product, which begs the question: why aren’t large companies investing in ensuring that Hispanics have full access, access that specifically addresses their needs, especially in their mobile market presence? A partner of the The Neilsen Company reported a few months back that 45% of Hispanic mobile users have smartphones, the highest among all ethnic groups, including Whites. Additionally: 12% of US Hispanic mobile users use social networks on their mobile vs. 10% of general market, supporting the priority on social influencers that we’ve discovered.
Last month in the KLI webinar series we established a mobile scorecard for the auto insurance industry and of the 4 major brands we reviewed, only Allstate supposedly had a Spanish version (Although, the iTunes store states they do, when we changed the language to Spanish the language did not change like other apps typically do; if there is was a way to change the language within the app itself, it is not easy to find.) This is troublesome to us. Secondary research indicates that the Hispanic market accounts for the highest growth in auto insurance – why is Allstate the only player paying attention? Even more, as I was putting together this article, I quickly took a look at all the apps I have downloaded on my iPhone and of the 61 apps, I discovered that only five have made an effort to engage the Spanish-speaking world. Facebook, LinkedIn, Groupon, Skype, and TripAdvisor all have a Spanish version of their applications – Way to Go!
When will the others catch up? Will a translated version of their mobile presence be enough? We think this opportunity is huge for companies to get their Spanish mobile presence right the first time by considering the users behaviors and is an opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked. What do you think?

Auto Insurance Mobile Competitive Landscape Webinar on May 19th 2pm

Which insurance provider offers the most comprehensive mobile capabilities? How do they compare to their competition? Which provider shows the best understanding of how to deliver a useful and easy mobile experience?
KLI compared State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive and their respective mobile sites and applications in a mobile competitive review study. Each property (mobile site, iPhone App, Android App) was compared against a list of standard auto insurance tasks to assess their capabilities and features.
Join us at 2pm EST on May 19th to to hear the detailed report about how each company ranks and who produces the best mobile experience to date.    Register here.