The future of comparison websites for financial services in Belgium

1. The future of financial comparison
websites in Belgium
In collaboration with
1

2. T he Data T he ques tion
Interviews with 126 comparis on
B elgium is the only major
webs ites in 16 countries
E uropean market without a large
2 years of cas e s tudies comparis on webs ite bus ines s
2 rounds of focus groups What would need to be done
to s ucceed in B elgium ?
6 S tudies from F orres ter
O ver 2000 cons umer interviews
(in B elgium)

3. C omparis on webs ites exis t in every E uropean c ountry, how long do you think it
will be before they s how s ome s uc c es s in the B elgian Market
O 6 mo O 1 year O 2 or more years
What types of c omparis on webs ites do you think will s uc c eed in B elgium ?
real comparis on s ites like the UK (moneys upermarket.com) O yes O no
money driven comparis on s ites (independer.nl) O yes O no
hidden comparis on s ites (as s urland.fr) O yes O no
In your opinion c ould a c omparis on s ite be s et up that provides leads loc ally ?
O ur target is 80 % market c overage, are we dreaming… any s ugges tions ..
I would like more information on

4. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

5. Today’s challenges
 Information overload
 Matching consumers and advertisers
 Personal advice not general answers
5

6. NEED FOR SIMPLICITY
Example: mobile providers
…some of them offering +10 tariff plans
6

7. SEARCH FOR INFORMATION
HOW IT USED TO BE
SHOWING
ADS
2008
LOOKING FOR
INFORMATION
7

8. LOOKING…
 More buying on line than in Holland
 Internet as a source for information
8

9. Millions of sites…
2.2 million sites / 50,000 searches per month = 40 sites per search (NL)
520 site per search (FR) !!

10. Dis tribution of s ites by pag e rank
Competition G oog le All B elg ian B anking &
is tough PR
0
S ites *
18.5%
Ins uranc e
12.0%
Index
65
1 3.4% 4.7% 136
2 5.3% 10.4% 195
3 14.0% 13.4% 96
4 22.2% 16.7% 75
5 19.1% 19.6% 103
6 14.0% 16.0% 115
7 0.6% 5.4% 858
8 2.0% 1.6% 79
9 0.7% 0.2% 21
10 0.0% 0.1% 217
7-10 3.4% 7.2% 211
* pers onal and family s ites excluded

11. But hard is it really ?
• 1500 keywords • 2 measures
(Insurance and banking)
– Num = number of
• 4400 sites that showed up in a appearances
top 10 ranking
– Scores for positions
Google rank Points
for keyword Allocated
1 42
2 12
3 9
4 6
5 5
6 4
7 3
8 3
9 3
10 3 11

12. banking ins uranc e T otal C ount of c ount
S ite num s c ore rank num s c ore rank num s c ore rank
abnamro.be 1 3 1345 1 3 2592
abnamro.nl 9 97 114 4 15 460 13 112 183
allianz.be 1 3 1438 8 36 312 9 39 604
argenta.be 3 13 578 2 6 814 5 19 822
axa.be 44 746 7 54 581 6 98 1327 6
bkcp.be 2 7 914 2 9 656 4 16 914
cbc.be 1 42 281 1 42 539
centea.be 1 9 749 1 9 1499
citibank.be 12 90 125 12 90 231
coronadirect.be 1 3 1438 1 3 2761
deltalloydlife.be 1 3 1446 1 3 2796
deuts chebank.be 9 46 261 1 3 1182 10 49 443
dexia.com 1 42 284 1 9 649 2 51 420
ethias .be 33 386 22 49 470 16 82 856 13
fortis .be 2 13 509 2 13 1015
fortis bank.be 1 3 1492 1 3 2885
fortis bank.nl 6 31 369 6 31 662
fortis banking.be 4 18 479 4 22 383 8 40 603
generali.be 5 22 391 5 22 780
ges tionprivee.fr.fortis .com 1 3 1746 1 3 3403
ing.be 19 113 100 23 192 59 42 305 63
ins urance.be.fortis .com 1 5 1008 1 5 2051
kbc.be 16 172 60 5 66 153 21 238 84
kbc.com 2 6 1085 2 6 1803
kbcverzekeringen.info 1 6 899 1 6 1804
pas s travaux.fr 2 84 143 2 84 254
privatebanking.fortis .com 3 49 223 3 49 445
rabobank.be 2 16 523 2 16 910
tatv.be 2 12 597 2 12 1203
touring.be 1 9 735 1 9 1472
vivium.be 3 12 592 3 12 1191

13. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

14. COMPARISON WEBSITES
 Give objective information (usually)
 Compare prices (and ratings)
 3 primary areas of business
 Products
 Travel
 Financial Services
14

15. 15

16. 16

17. 17

18. How they work…
1. People fill in personal data and needs
2. They compare the different rates
3. If they apply, the advertiser pays for the lead
18

19. A simple business model
• Costs per lead about the But conversion rate a
same price as other leads lot higher
Mortgages Conversion Rates vs.
• Typical price: 40-80 Eur Direct mail
• Print 60-140 EUR – Home loans +280%
• Direct Mail: 60-80 Eur – Credit Cards + 80%
– Insurance +170%
19

20. Margins not hurt by comparison
websites BE
ING.nl
ING.Be
20

21. 21

22. 22

23. A booming Business
23

24. £35,000,000
£30,000,000 Turnover BeatThatQuote.com
£25,000,000
£20,000,000
£15,000,000
£10,000,000
£5,000,000
£0
2005 2006 2007 2008
24

25. More than
different price comparison websites in UK
(even sites to compare comparison sites) 25

26. Online verzekeren is het tweede
internetproduct in Nederland
Serge Fenenko (Novocortex)
woensdag 6 februari 2008, 13:12
Rubriek: Cijfers en feiten | Trends |
Bekeken: 8551 keer (4861 keer
doorgeklikt)
21% that looked on-line bought on-line

27. Lot’s of business models
– Truly independent
• Scrapers
• Advertiser dbase driven
• A combination
– Ranking based on $ (Independer.nl, sort of)
– Hidden suppliers (Assurland.fr)
– Just a lead generators (Kwanta Kosta)
27

28. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

29. Forrester research
• Comparison sites not the first place
– They get there after looking for a while
– Used to confirm / eliminate
• Often no on-line activity
• Almost always a 2nd source of information
• Often several sites (2-3 sites on average)
• A repeat business (2.2 products / year)
29

30. Iprospect (NL) S earc h C omparis on
(g oog le) S ites
1 L ooking for information 67% 33%
C ompare supplier specs 44% 53%
2
C ompare prices 21% 65%
3 B uying 11% 7%
http://www.checkit.nl/pdf/whitepaper_internet_en_financiele_dienstverlening.pdf

31. Jan Hilde
31
now

32. family & friends
bank websites
32
week 1

33. 33

34. 34

35. A new bank
found on internet
35
week 2

36. 36
week 3

37. 37
week 4

38. The net result
• Consumers • Banks
– Tired feet – 1 in 8 hit rate
– Lots of insecurity about – Lots of wasted time
the decision – Probably not much
– “you gotta negotiate” is margin
the message for friends – Hundreds in contact
costs
A lose / lose business model

39. Summary: why they work…
• Motivated consumers
• Something advertisers could never do
• Win/ Win
– Consumers : easy
– Advertisers: cheaper and they can select
clients
39

40. Belgium
40

41. The UK
Comparison site
Comparison site
Comparison site
Comparison site
41

42. Not 7 less 3
But a log difference
something like 27 vs 23
836 K vs. .5 K 42

43. Half of Net users have
heard of at least one
financial price comparison
site. Belgium: 9%
A quarter of Net users
have used a price
comparison site in the past
year. Belgium: 4%
B elg ium
FR NL
Mes fournis s eurs
2.3% 1.8%
Aanbieders
Haka 0.3% 0.3%
G uide-eparge
1.8% 3.7%
s paargids
E ccent 0.8% 8.0%
T otals 4.0% 4.5%

44. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

45. Research
• AFC: Academics for companies
• Methodology: Web Survey to known internet
users
• Data available
NL FR Total
Banking 718 392 1110
Insurance 550 322 872
Total 1268 714 1982
45

46. Hypotheses
• Online consumer behavior in • Belgian online behavior is similar
Belgium is similar to online to other EU countries
consumer behavior in other EU
countries.
• There is an unmet consumer • Consumers want more
need for online product research information, information they
in the financial sector can’t find now
• The online product research • Trust issues identified
system has to be different from
systems in other EU countries.
• Banks not listed at online • There would be a negative impact
financial product research on companies not-listed banks
systems experience negative
effects
46

47. Belgian consumers are also looking for financial
information on line
41,5% of Belgian
respondents have looked
for financial product
information online

48. Consumer information
Belgian results
68%
52%
13%
41%
13%
11%
15%
11%
4%

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Which of the following have you used to research financial information?
Belgian usage is low
49
8.6%

50. Belgian trust is low 65%
Do you trust price comparison websites?
Neutral
32%
Enough trust
NL
Little trust
FR
No trust
= enough trust +
lots of trust
A lot of trust
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
(in %)
50

51. Negative effects for not-listed banks?
If your bank is not listed on a price comparison website, would
this have a negative impact on consumer decision? Would
consumers still consult your bank’s website?
Language Negative impact Still consult
FR 45% 89%
NL 44% 90%
51

52. Planned usage is high
How likely would you be to use a comparison website in the following categories
Very Very top 2
Unlikely Unlikely Neutral Likely Likely Total score
box
Utilities (gas & electric) 7% 6% 14% 35% 38% # 74%
Telephone 9% 7% 14% 37% 34% # 70%
Internet 7% 9% 15% 36% 33% # 69%
Television 8% 8% 17% 36% 32% # 67%
Auto Insurance 11% 11% 18% 33% 27% # 60%
Savings account 12% 11% 19% 31% 27% # 58%
Home Insurance 10% 12% 20% 33% 25% # 58%
Personal Loans 16% 10% 27% 26% 20% # 46%
Credit Cards 15% 15% 26% 24% 20% # 44%
Life Insusrance / Pension 16% 13% 28% 23% 20% # 43%
Home Loans 18% 12% 31% 21% 17% # 39%

53. Imagine a site…
53

54. What would you do with a s ite as king for this information
I would never fill in my pers onal details on s uch a
59% 68% 61%
webs ite
I would fill in my pers onal details and compare
interes ts , however I wouldn't click through 36% 22% 34%
afterwards
I would fill in my pers onal details and compare
interes ts , I would then click through s o a 5% 10% 6%
repres entative of the bank can contact me
54

55. But we know what consumers want
What other information would you like ?
NL FR TOTAL
Specific product details 41.55% 44.42% 44.07%
Comparison of characteristics/prices of different banks 29.83% 31.15% 31.48%
What product is best for you 23.10% 25.19% 24.81%
Non-biased information about the product 14.31% 21.54% 16.67%
Information about saving and how to pick the best product 14.14% 17.88% 15.74%
Comparison of characteristics/prices of one specific bank 8.45% 11.92% 9.81%
Recommendations of specialists 8.79% 10.19% 9.63%
Opinions of other consumers 9.48% 5.96% 9.07%
Names of companies with products I am looking for 8.45% 8.46% 8.89%
Independent reports 7.93% 5.96% 7.78%
Information about service level and quality 4.31% 6.54% 5.00%
Other 1.90% 3.08% 2.22%
55

56. 2 big issues to resolve
Traffic = key element to the success of a price comparison website
No traffic = no business
SEO !
Consumer trust = key element to the success of a price
comparison website
Do more than prices
56

57. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

58. The Belgian Challenge
• Traffic
• Skeptical consumers
• Not used to buying financial services on line
• A small market (less € for development)
• No sites that have succeeded yet
58

59. Info + Action = trust
traffic
trust
59

60. 60

61. • Build traffic
• Build visibility in google
• Build trust
• Keep the comparison
site action orientated
Internet Insurances car
Mobile phone Insurances home
Telephone Insurances life
Television Electricity
Credit cards Special deals (misc)
Savings
Loans
Mortgages 61

62. Our oldest site (after 11 weeks)
62

63. Building a brand
Consumer Advertiser
 Objective source of  Professional environment
information  Qualified leads
 No privileged advertisers  They choose their clients
 Personal results  Quick delivery
 A new starting point for  A new, easy way to attract
important decisions customers
in their lives
63

64. Our business model
Consumer focus Advertiser focus
Consumer Fair 80% of companies
Neutral
Honest
Transparent
64

65. A national email survey (500K – 1 million)
“How much could you save”
and “say what you really think…”
– Build awareness
– Collect data by category
– Generate future leads / viral traffic

66. Lot’s of testing to get it right…
66

67. More than price in the results

68. Adding a local link
68

69. What we will offer…
Quality feedback Data loading
• Results of survey • Customer satisfaction rates
• Verbatims for sites • Expected coverage 20% of
contacts
Free (and proprietary) when
you supply emails
69

70. What we will offer…
• Free Opportunities to • Free comparisons for your
provide information in our products
advertiser section
• Pay per click leads • Highly qualified pay per
Price similar to Google click leads. Price similar to
adwords, but more direct mail, but conversion
motivated consumers rates much higher
(or reciprocal links)
70

71. Timings
• We are 3 months young
– 6 FTEs, 2 more planned
– 11 sites running
– 8 comparison sites designs in testing
Q uality S urveys Now
F inaliz e NL 123gids May
F R guide 123 May/J une
18 proc ent / 18 pourc ent tes ting May
B eta vers ion J une
D ata links and c lient tes ting J une/J uly
L ive Augus t
National quot;what c ould you s ave s urveyquot; S eptember
71

72. • The Belgian Internet landscape
• Comparison sites
• Why do they work /international research
• Belgian Research
• Making a Belgian business
• Discussion: making it work for you…

73. Our questions
– Comparison websites exist in every European country,
how long do you think it will be before they show some
success in the Belgian Market
– What do you think the future of comparison websites will
be in Belgium ?
– In your opinion could a comparison site be set up that
provides leads locally ?
– Our target is 80 % market coverage, are we dreaming…
any suggestions..
73