These heat maps are hot!

I came across this handy web analytics tool recently which looks particularly helpful in identifying website insights without spending a small fortune in website usability research. Clicktale is essentially an online tracking tool which is able to record and play back all the visitor actions including mouse movements, keystrokes and interactions with controls such as drop down lists, check boxes  etc.  Clicktale aggregates this data to provide link analytics, conversion reports and heat map analysis.  You can watch a simple demonstration on their website here.

This can be a cost-effective way to help you determine why your website is generating high bounce rates or why you’re not quite getting the click throughs you anticipated.  But the application which has really caught my eye is their Form Analytics tool.  Ok, I admit, it’s not the most sexy area of insight generation but in terms of identifying behavioural insights which can have a demonstrable impact on conversion rates, it’s not something to be scoffed at!

The Conversion Report they produce can identify how many visitors:

• Landed on the online form page
• Left without even touching the form
• Started filling out the form
• Left midway through completing the form
• Attempted to submit form
• Left after failing to submit form
• Successful completions

These sorts of insights are gold-dust to any online marketer and can have a significant impact on the business, not just in optimising conversions but also shedding insights on KPI reporting.  For example,  I read that one company conducted this analysis only to find the reason why they were getting such low conversions on the website was because users were arriving on the form page only to cut and paste the telephone number and phone the company directly.  So whilst on paper it looked like the website was underperfoming as a lead generation tool, the reality was somewhat different.

First Direct banks on positive customer feedback

I have to say I really like this new interactive microsite by First Direct as it fully embraces the principles of social media, crowdsourcing and participation marketing, whilst hosting all the UGC in real time.

The campaign focuses on consumer perceptions towards the bank and its customer service, soliciting responses on the website as well as aggregating brand mentions – good and bad – from more than 5 million social media sites. The results are presented in engaging ways such as a sentiment barometer, reminiscent of Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar’s ‘we feel fine‘ experiment.   The way it presents all the content in real time is also noteworthy as it keeps the website constantly fresh and up-to-date.  In fact, it’s not too dissimilar to the intriguing online widget by the US telecoms brand Sprint which I reviewed a few months ago.

It’s a bold move for any brand to host such an open and frank conversation in such a public fashion, none more so than for a brand within a sector which has received such negative publicity of late.  But at the same time, if any bank can do this it’s First Direct, renown for its customer service and its enthusiastic fanbase.  Whilst there are some negative comments, particularly about its atrocious savings rates, First Direct knows it has enough evangelists to keep the balance of the conversation in their favour.

In effect, what they’ve done is harness the largely positive feedback and present it back to the general public in an engaging and interactive way in order to convince new prospects to switch.  At the same time, I imagine they will garner useful feedback as well as uncover new areas for improvement.  In fact, in 2007 a French bank called Credit Mutuel did something similar when they ran an advertising campaign directing customers to a website where they could give feedback to the bank. Once there, customers were invited to answer the question “If I were a banker…”. This early attempt at crowdsourcing proved to be immensely popular and provided some invaluable insights  to help them improve their service offering.

Both approaches are  non-conventional within the banking sector and for that they should be applauded. But above all else, by embracing social media so wholeheartedly and actively encouraging consumer participation First Direct have succeeded to differentiate themselves from its competitors, reinforcing their brand values of openness, honesty, transparency and their unparalleled  commitment to customer service – a brand territory which few other banks can honestly own.