In the world of 21st century finance, the demands of the customer are becoming the most important role to help ensure any financial institution’s success. Unfortunately, many such services are constantly falling short of the mark. For example, only 50 percent of customers have stated that they are pleased with the service of their local bank. Only 43 percent view their bank’s financial operations to be simply understood. Perhaps what is most worrying is that less than one third of these customers expected to be treated fairly and transparently. As our world now shifts to the realm of online finance, these figures will often times mirror the satisfaction levels of customers that interact with a financially-oriented website. So, what can we do to help transform a “good” or even “mediocre” website into one that is at the top of its game?

Website Navigation

Although the world of finance can be confusing at times, a website should reflect the exact opposite. Visitors need to be able to navigate a financial portal quickly and easily. Should this not take place, it is highly likely that a potential customer will seek life elsewhere. Navigation should be clear and simple; links across the top or the left-hand side of the page will accomplish this.

Infographics

Graphical displays can come in quite handy when trying to explain a rather difficult topic; the process of filing a tax return can be an example of this. It has been shown that visitors are more likely to remain on a page if it is visually stimulating and easy to digest. In the world of finance, massive amounts of text will hardly accomplish this. Some of the latest improvements in infographics employ navigation as part of their benefits. Clickable portions of a picture or a flow chart will enable visitors to be sent to a specific part of the website for further information. Once again, this will help ensure that a visitor engages more directly with the site itself.

Authority Links

Many analysts feel that a website is only as trustworthy as the third-party links that it will provide. Posting hyperlinks to out-of-date or otherwise unprofessional web pages smacks of inexperience and this will directly detract from the viability of the website. Also, it should be remembered that high quality links will help a site score higher rankings within the Google search engine. Of course, higher rankings will directly equate to a more robust clickthrough rate.

Proactivity

If we recall the statistics mentioned earlier, we see that only 50 percent of customers are happy with their bank’s current level of customer service. This is heavily due to the fact that many individuals do not feel as if their needs are being proactively catered to. A great financial website will offer numerous avenues by which a visitor or existing customer can contact client support. Not only should there exist a static email address, but a phone number and even a live chat option should always be present.

These few and simple tips can serve to separate a mediocre financial portal from one that will attract loyal and lucrative customer base.