SAN MATEO, Calif., — February 15, 2005 — The competition to acquire credit card customers online has heated up according to a new study by Keynote Systems (Nasdaq “KEYN”), The Internet Performance Authority®. Keynote provides the industry’s most comprehensive periodic competitive benchmarking of consumer attitudes and experiences at leading credit card Web sites through its syndicated research reports. The company’s large scale studies are performed regularly allowing for key industries to be tracked over time from an online customer experience standpoint.
The Keynote Customer Experience (CE) Rankings for the Credit Card Industry are based on research with 2,000 prospective customers as they evaluated and interacted with leading credit card Web sites. In addition to traditional opinion data, Keynote’s proprietary research technology collects detailed qualitative and behavioral data as prospective customers perform tasks at each site.
The Web sites operated by American Express, Bank of America, Bank One, Capital One, Chase, Citibank, Discover, MBNA, Providian and Wells Fargo were evaluated as part of this competitive benchmarking study.
Competition for Online Customer Acquisition Heats
Up
The Keynote study revealed an increasingly
competitive race for customers online – and uncovered the key
motivators for consumers when evaluating and applying for cards
online. Although Discover Card and American Express provide the best
online experience for consumers, as measured by the overall Keynote
CE Rankings, the five leading card sites are closely grouped
together in terms of customer experience appeal.
In addition, Bank One and Citibank have made gains in their effectiveness in acquiring customers online, joining MBNA atop the Keynote Acquisition Impact Index. The index gauges the overall likelihood of a visitor to apply for a credit card based on their online experience at a specific card site.
| Keynote Customer Experience Rankings | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Discover |
| 2 | American Express |
| 3 | Chase |
| Keynote Acquisition Impact Index Rankings | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bank One |
| 2 | MBNA |
| 3 | Citibank |
Citibank
Prospective customers visiting the Bank One site were 11%more
likely to apply for a card now than they were just six months ago,
when the last Keynote study of prospective credit card customers was
conducted. Prospective customers visiting the Citibank site were 19%
more likely to apply for a card now than they were just twelve
months ago.
The seven leading sites in terms of customer experience and acquisition impact have a significant competitive advantage over the other sites evaluated during the study.
“A growing need exists for information regarding online credit application processes,” said Susan Cournoyer, principal analyst at Gartner. “Information such as satisfaction data and ease of use data can help consumers more effectively navigate the world of online credit, and also help providers of credit to improve their services in ways that directly align with consumer needs and preferences.”
Privacy and Security Issues of Paramount Concern to
Consumers
In a significant indication of consumer
concern, privacy and security issues were the second most important
driver of customer satisfaction when evaluating credit cards online,
with only credit card fees and interest rates having a greater
impact. More than 85% of study participants said privacy and
security issues were important or very important to them.
The consumer’s decision process was also driven considerably by the availability of customer support options and the ease of applying online. More than 65% of consumers rated ease of use as important or very important – and close to 15% of consumers expressed frustration with the online application process at the site they visited. Discover, MBNA and American Express were rated as having the best online application processes.
“Privacy and security issues are of paramount importance to consumers evaluating a credit card site,” said Dr. Bonny Brown, director of research and public services at Keynote. “But once customers sign up with a card company, these issues diminish in importance, as the consumer grows comfortable with the card and Web site – then customer support issues come to the fore as a driver in influencing customer experience and loyalty.”
How Consumers Search for Credit Cards
Online
Most consumers [53%] start their search for a
credit card at a search engine and then follow a link to a specific
credit card or bank site, 47% type in a bank or credit card
company’s URL directly into their Internet browser. Six in ten
consumers [60%] use a search engine at some point in their search
and evaluation process, with Google, Yahoo! and MSN being the top
search destinations.
The entire report, Keynote Customer Experience (CE) Rankings for the Credit Card Industry, is a 100+ page examination of the credit card industry containing hundreds of additional data points and a detailed analysis of the findings. For information about purchasing the full report, visit http://www.keynote.com/syndicated.html.
Keynote Customer Experience Research
Keynote
is the leading provider of customer experience research services,
offering both syndicated and custom research examining consumer
attitudes and behavior on the Web. Keynote’s research provides
critical business insight into online customer experiences, industry
trends and competitive Web strategies for a variety of vertical
industries. In addition to traditional opinion data, Keynote’s
proprietary research technology and access to a panel of 160,000+
consumers allows for the collection of detailed qualitative and
behavioral data that inform its reports.
Keynote’s syndicated research includes two distinct types of reports: the Keynote Customer Experience (CE) Rankings, which provide competitive benchmarking and rankings of the leading Web sites in a specific industry; and Open Web Research (OWR), which takes a broader look at the customer’s experience across the entire Web when performing specific tasks, such as booking business travel.
Keynote CE (CE) Rankings are available for a number of industries including the retail, banking and credit card industries, as well as several travel verticals, including the lodging, cruise and rental car industries. The Keynote CE Rankings are the successor to the Vividence CE Rankings following Keynote’s acquisition of Vividence in September 2004.
To learn more about Keynote’s syndicated research offerings and for a list of the various vertical industry reports that are available, visit: http://www.keynote.com/solutions/cem_syndicated_research.html
About Keynote
Founded in 1995, Keynote
Systems (Nasdaq “KEYN”), The Internet Performance Authority®, is the
worldwide leader in e-business performance management services. Over
2,100 corporate IT and marketing departments and 20,000 individual
subscribers rely on Keynote’s growing range of measurement and
monitoring, service level and customer experience management
services to improve e-business performance by reducing costs,
improving customer satisfaction and increasing profitability.
Keynote is viewed as The Internet Performance Authority due to the company’s global infrastructure of over 1,600 measurement computers in more than 50 cities worldwide that capture and store on a daily basis over 60 million Internet performance measurements, frequent media citations quoting Keynote's Web performance data and analysis, the company’s market-leading Web performance indices for vertical markets and leading customer research that provides critical business insight into online customer experiences, industry trends and competitive Web strategies.
Keynote Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California and can be reached at http://www.keynote.com/ or by phone in the U.S. at 650-403-2400.
Keynote, The Internet Performance Authority and Perspective are
registered trademarks of Keynote Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
©2005 Keynote Systems, Inc.
Media Relations Contacts:
Dan Berkowitz,
Keynote, (650) 403-3305, dberkowitz@keynote.com
Dan
Cahill, Roaring PR (for Keynote), (415) 552-3999, dcahill@roaringcommunications.com