Quality of Online Experience Key to Customer Retention

I’ve never really subscribed to the mantra whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And today’s banking online experience ranking, which promotes simplicity, just adds to my many reasons why not.

In short, the easier a bank’s web site is to understand while still conveying valuable information, the better it is for the user. So says Change Sciences Group, a company that provides an interactive experience modeling platform.

“Throughout 2010, and more than ever before, customers will be won, lost and kept based purely on the quality of their experience online,” writes the company.

And today, Change Sciences released its best web sites breakdown. Specifically, it took a look at 22 web sites, ranking them against one another. Below is its verdict based off of models and its software:

1. Ally Bank
2. ING Direct
3. Capital One
4. PNC Virtual Wallet
5. BB&T
6. PNC Bank
7. Citibank
8. SunTrust
9. Wells Fargo
10. HSBC Direct
11. Bank of America
12. Mint
13. Thrive
14. American Express Bank
15. E*Trade
16. Ameriprise
17. EverBank
18. Chase
19. Total Merrill
20. Nationwide
21. US Bank
22. E-Loan

I think this “faster, the better” logic can also be applied to a plethora of bank efforts. Consider communication strategies. As a victim of fraud twice this past month alone, I’m getting to know alerts from Chase and BofA quite well. Long story short, I have to give a shout out to Chase. Why? Because I didn’t have to do any work. They called me.