Brining Financial Services Online
The variety of financial tools and services available today hasmultiplied dramatically from a generation ago. On both thepersonal front and in the business sector there has been adramatic increase in the number of products available, themethods by which they are delivered and the services theyrequire.The internet is a perfect system for laying out preliminaryinformation in the financial services industry, where productoptions can get complicated fairly quickly. Businesses of allsizes that are engaged in some portion of this industry arefinding that a website makes good business sense.An enormous amount of financially related business is still doneat the local level. Mortgages, auto and home loans and insurancepolicies are still usually secured from a local agent. The smallbusinessman engaged in providing such products need only thinkabout the amount of time he or she spends on the phoneexplaining the basics of their services to realize how much timea website could save them.When a customer calls about auto insurance, think about theability to refer the caller to your website to learn about therequired minimum coverage, about the relationship of thevehicle's value, about the relationship of personal injurycoverage to health insurance. Think about having a website that explains the four or five homemortgage options that are available, about how they are affectedby down payment, credit history and loan amount. Consider theenormous number of variables available in health insurance forboth individuals and families, and envision a chart on your ownwebsite that explains how those policies work.That's only a start on the types of benefits a website canprovide to a small businessman or regional company in thefinancial services business. Your website can provideexplanations, charts, even video clips explaining:* Retirement planning * Medicare insurance options * Home loans,including specialties such as tenants-in kind * Real estatehistory and trends in your area * Auto insurance, including theeffects of driving records and assigned risk * Investments -mutual funds or annuities? Stocks or CDs? * Estate planning *Health insurance - a new policy, or COBRA?These are a few examples plucked from a vast array of financialservices that are out there today. Your website can become yourreference library, your consulting tool, and your businesspartner when it comes to educating your clients. Websitesprovide multidimensional explanations of material in a far moreeffective fashion than brochures. No matter how glossy, stacksof paper that use terms only half understood are intimidating topeople. Your website can have an entire dictionary section, so thatpotential customers can learn terminology at their leisure,rather than ask embarrassing questions. And of course, the fewerquestions they have when they pay a call on you, the less timeis consumed in moving towards a potential sale.Use the graphics capability of a website to maximize theattractive nature of your particular company. Take advantage ofa personalized business website to explain why your services arebetter, unique, priced more reasonably, performed morethoroughly. With any complex financial product, you'll need toexplain how your selection of products can meet an entire rangeof consumer needs. Your website can do that for you. Financial products can be presented online just as attractivelyas real estate is today. For every financial product, there is apersonal benefit that can be reinforced with images. Forproducts with multiple options and complex purchasing decisions,a website provides a consumer with an invaluable tool that isavailable 24/7. Your potential customer won't be sitting acrossfrom you, concerned that there's been a question missed or anissue not fully understood. A website is like an office staff toa financial services professional: there's no better businessfor harnessing the efficiency of the new technology.
|
