“Justice never sleeps.”
It’s a line evoking images of Batman brooding on some fog-shrouded rooftop, ever-vigilant and prepared to save Gotham City. After all, crime never takes a vacation. And neither do your consumers-at-large.
Sure, individual people take vacations. But en masse, people always need your financial organization’s help. And this is no comic book…your employees need rest and their own vacations too.
All except your digital employee, your digital branch – your website.
As summer vacations arrive, do you have bank or credit union website design good enough to satisfy consumers 24/7?
Bank and Credit Union Website Design: The Great Equalizer and Compensator
Websites are a large part of the consumer experience nowadays, but they aren’t always a large part of institution priorities. Some organizations holding billions of dollars in assets find themselves hamstrung by outdated websites. They handicap their own growth by neglecting the 74% of consumers indifferent or unhappy with their banking experience. These folks eventually leave for digitally savvy neobanks.
This is a tragedy, as your website is the great equalizer. A fantastic digital presence puts small institutions on par with large ones and traditional organizations on par with new contenders. It also compensates for your shortfalls.
Charles Schwab recently ranked highest in customer satisfaction for checking and savings. That’s despite having a lower savings rate than many other institutions. People believed Schwab supported them in challenging times…one way being that “the website provides all information needed.”
An excellent website makes up for shortcomings elsewhere while supporting consumers whenever they need it.
Three Pitfalls
There are three pitfalls keeping bank or credit union website design from being the great equalizer and compensator it should be. Those pitfalls are:
- Poor visual design
- Lack of clarity
- Inconsistent updates
Each flaw compromises your website’s integrity. Amass enough demerits and people lose trust in your website…and by association, you.
Three Solutions
Your current website doesn’t have to stay trapped under the weight of villainous design. It’s time to start addressing website pitfalls and gain consumer trust. Here are some suggestions for improving each problem area:
1. Poor visual design: Your website needs a pretty face. If it looks modern, people assume you tackle their modern problems. If it looks like it’s from the AOL era, people assume you’re a dinosaur. Update the website to modern standards. Have beautiful imagery and complementary colors. Declutter your menu options (which improves both visual attractiveness and your user experience).
2. Lack of clarity: If you confuse, you lose. Schwab’s customers noted all information needed was on the website…and presumably understandable. Too many institutions dump information on sites without trimming it down. Cut the copy. Have clear calls to action. Write readable pages using short paragraphs and bullets. As an example, we helped Synergent create a beautiful site that distilled powerful technological solutions into understandable web copy.
3. Inconsistent updates: Do people regularly see new content? A lack of content updates implies you’re stagnant or inactive. And it’s not always the organization’s fault! Some website vendors hold organizations hostage with unintuitive systems, expensive help and lengthy update windows. Find a content management system (ex: WordPress) that empowers you to make regular updates.
Become the hero your consumers both need and deserve. Create a website people feel good about accessing at all hours of the night and all days of the year. And don’t do it alone! Book a free consultation now to enlist On The Mark Strategies’ bank and credit union website design Picassos for your redesign.
