Last Exit Benchmark Studies: Pension Funds Sector 2012

© DIGITAL BENCHMARK

PENSIONS 2012

PENSIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 INTRODUCTION
3 ABOUT THE RANKING
4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
5 THE BENCHMARK RANKS 1 – 3
8 MOBILE
9 SOCIAL MEDIA
10 CLEAR EXPLANATIONS
11 USABILITY
12 AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION
13 AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION, ELSEWHERE
14 ENGAGEMENT
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: LONDON@LASTEXIT.TV • +44 (0)20 7407 7666 // NEWYORK@LASTEXIT.TV • 1(646) 347 4340

PENSIONS INTRODUCTION
© DIGITAL BENCHMARK LAST EXIT PENSION SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK
The UK pensions market is about to undergo radical change on two key fronts:

“Up to 50 percent of Retail Distribution Review (RDR)
Changing the way Independent Financial Advisors and Financial Advisors are remunerated, and in force

IFAs will go out of
from the start of 2013, the RDR will remove commission bias from the pensions system; financial
advisers will instead agree their fees directly and transparently with clients.

business as a result of
Last Exit considers the financial advice market to have a similarity with an unlikely sector - that of
mobile phones. At the moment mobile phones and financial advice are ‘free’ at the point of consump-

the Retail Distribution
tion; the actual cost is hidden in contracts and recouped over time - essentially a form of credit. High
street banking - another service that is largely ‘free’ at the point of use’ - reinforces this modus operandi
of financial advice being ‘zero cost’.

Review (RDR) From January 1st, individuals (or perhaps companies) will pay for that advice at a rate that a professional
may understand but the average person - particularly those on low incomes - may not.

legislation due on Auto-enrolment
1 January next year. ” Shifting the burden of pension provision to companies who will, by law, have to ‘auto-enrol’ employees
in to a company pension scheme. Companies enter the auto-enrolment system over a period of years,
depending on their size and PAYE status.
Julian Chillingworth
chief investment officer at Rathbones Effect
Auto-enrolment will trigger an influx of new people in to pension plans, and stimulate those with
existing plans to revisit their provision. Some, at the lower end of the market, will likely use NEST - the
basic government-instigated scheme. Others will use plans from the major pensions providers as part of
What proportion of the
a company scheme. Either way, there will be a considerable rise in interest from individuals and
IFA community will be
companies in pensions. That interest - combined with the effect of the RDR - will inevitably lead people
wiped out in the
to pension providers’ websites and, perhaps, more specialist websites including Trustnet and Citywire. It
aftermath of RDR?
may also spawn chatter on social networks.

more than 50 percent 20% The Last Exit Pension Sector Benchmark
Given the above changes, and building on expertise gained contributing to digital industry think tank
25 to 50 percent 29%
reports for L2, Last Exit has conducted a study to benchmark the desktop websites, mobile and social
less than 25 percent 36% presences of 19 UK pension providers. Covering 29 different touchpoints, the findings of the benchmark
are summarised in this document. For more detailed information and analysis please contact me.
it will barely have any effect 16%
Fred Brown
Source: FE Trustnet poll Partner and Managing Director, Last Exit

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: LONDON@LASTEXIT.TV • +44 (0)20 7407 7666 // NEWYORK@LASTEXIT.TV • 1(646) 347 4340 P2

PENSIONS ABOUT THE RANKING

Desktop
Multiple touch-points, delving into
the organisation of information,
content quality, usability, audience
segmentation and engagement.

Identification of user type
Pension types and funds
Company information for customer
Mobile Route to pensions
Engagement
Research and transactions are no longer
Managing your pensions
confined to desktop computers. We
Fund data
looked for website optimisation on
Website UX
mobile phones, and whether pension
Wesite search
mobile apps are available.
Visibility
Customer pension / fund app available
Advisor pension / fund app available

Social Media
We looked for ‘Likes’ and follower numbers on
Facebook and Twitter, engagement levels and
whether their social media presences are
Scoring system reflected on their respective corporate websites.

We examined the websites of 19 leading UK pension providers. Facebook main brand page
Our three main criteria were Mobile, Website and Social Media, Facebook sponsored page
which we divided further into 29 touch-points, each being given Twitter
a score between 0-5 (5 being very good).

116+ 115-87 86-58 <58
Excellent Good Mediocre Weak


PENSIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RDR and auto-enrolment will change the UK pensions market. But there’s also a
longer-term change, often over-looked, in how consumers in the UK research major
purchases and financial commitments. The web has changed how we decide what
to buy and how we invest.
In this report we’ve set out to discover whether UK pensions companies are ready for these changes,
MORE AND MORE CONSUMERS whether their digital presences are prepared for the growing numbers of informed customers with high
ARE TURNING TO THE WEB expectations of corporate websites. Customers used to researching, then purchasing from Amazon,
TO FIND FINANCIAL INFORMATION expect great service as the norm.

Analysing the websites and the digital presences of the UK’s leading pension providers, we’ve found an

ARE PENSION industry that’s, in the main, ill-prepared for the digital revolution that’s taking place around them.

We are unable to grade any of the 19 websites we examined as ‘Excellent’. Only Aviva's site was judged

COMPANIES
to be ‘Good’, of the rest, nine are ‘Mediocre’ , nine ‘Weak’.

Of the websites we have looked at, for example, only three were easily viewed on mobile phones. More
and more consumers are using tablets and smart-phones yet none of the leading pension providers are

READY?
using responsive design technology that will display their websites correctly on these devices.

With a few notable exceptions, we found these websites to be difficult to navigate. Usability is crucial
for the consumer trying to absorb complex financial information, yet many of these websites make
finding important information difficult. It’s easier for potential investors to leave a poorly designed
website rather than battle conflicting text, jargon and old press releases.

In other industries, demographic segmentation is often used to make customer website visits easier and
more productive. Yet we found few pension company websites that successfully grouped their
customers, and even fewer that drilled down into occupation or income bracket.

Turning to the search facility on these websites is of little help. Almost across the board, the search
engines are poor on pension providers’ websites, many returning out-of-date .pdf files and irrelevant
pages. Extraordinarily, three of the websites we looked at didn’t even provide a search box.

Social media is another untapped resource for many pension companies. With widely differing levels of
customer engagement, only seven of the nineteen operate a corporate Facebook page and eleven have
opened a Twitter account.

During our research we found website after website that failed to clearly explain their pension products.
It seems that the websites are often organised around corporate structure and priorities, rather than
customer needs and the evolving sophistication of the web.

In this time of change, the companies that reflect on the challenges detailed in this report and alter their
websites accordingly, stand to gain a competitive advantage.


PENSIONS THE BENCHMARK

RANK COMPANY SCORE DESCRIPTION

1 89 / 145 A clear winner. Aviva’s engaging website identifies its
Good key customers and is easy to navigate around. It
covers nearly all of the bases; relevant content, good
usability, a mobile site, social media pages and a
useful search function.

2 82 / 145 Pru.co.uk makes it easy to find the important
Mediocre information. A well organised, straight-talking
website that excels at explaining the benefits of its
pension products. Good tools and fund data.

3= 78 / 145 Well thought-out user journeys for its target
Mediocre audiences. Good, engaging, online planning tools and
one of the few websites to tackle auto-enrolment.

3= 78 / 145 Has defined routes to pension products. Explains
Mediocre clearly the roles that provider and advisors play and
how to consolidate pension plans.

Ranks 4 – 10 overleaf




4 Scottish Widows 73 / 145 Covers the basics. Refining the content and optimising for mobile would see
Mediocre scottishwidows.co.uk vying for the top spot. Beginning to make inroads into social media.

5 Legal & General 72 / 145 A good all-round performer. One of the few websites that provides clear information
Mediocre about the funds available under its selected pension schemes.

6 Fidelity 71 / 145 A well laid out website. Addresses transferring ISAs, funds and pensions.
Mediocre

7 Scottish Life 70 / 145 Makes it easy to find independent financial advice, also has a good internal search facility.
Mediocre

8 Friends Life 66 / 145 The website segments its target audience and explains key information but is
Mediocre not optimised for mobile.

9 LV 62 / 145 Maintains presences on Facebook and Twitter. We’d like to see better explanations of the
Mediocre pension types and funds on offer.

10= Wesleyan 57 / 145 Clear calls to action and section signposting aids navigation. Lacks planning tools, RDR
Weak and auto-enrolment information.

10= Zurich 57 / 145 Good information about the pension funds available. We’d like to see pension planning
Weak tools and optimisation for mobile and tablets.

Ranks 10 – 16 overleaf




11 NFU Mutual 52 / 145 Good calls to action, internal search and auto-enrolment information, but the website
Weak is not optimised for mobile, there’s no pension app, and the design is not responsive.

12 Virgin Money 51 / 145 A site that’s easy to navigate around, but is missing detailed pension information
Weak and a search box.

13 MetLife 40 / 145 Identifies different user types, but could do better with explaining the different
Weak products, fund data and information about consolidating pensions.

14 Skandia 39 / 145 Good explanations of the pension products available, but fails to identify user types and
Weak lacks clears calls to action and section signposting.

15 Sanlam 37 / 145 Offers fund data, but finding key information is difficult due to less than
Weak optimal internal search and content organisation.

16= Axa Wealth 36 / 145 Makes it easy to find an IFA, but the website relies on .pdf files and can be difficult to
Weak navigate around.

16= Canada Life 36 / 145 Contains clear information about the company and the role of fund managers, but the
Weak website’s reliance on .pdf files means that it can be confusing to use.


PENSIONS MOBILE

Website optimised for mobile (CSS or responsive)

THE USE OF WEB-ENABLED SMART 3 YES AVIVA / FIDELITY / LV

PHONES FOR RESEARCH AND
16 NO
BUSINESS IS ON THE RISE.
According to the telecommunications company Ericsson, the total
number of mobile subscriptions globally will reach around 9 billion in
2017, of which 5 billion will be for mobile broadband. Yet we’ve found
that many pension companies are not mobile-ready. Of the nineteen
companies we compared, only three employed websites that were
optimised for mobile. Only two offer mobile pension apps for their
Customer pension / fund app available
customers. Pension providers are in danger of being left behind.
2 YES FIDELITY / STANDARD LIFE

17 NO
100%
73%

80%
57%
52%
60%

40%
48%
Advisor pension / fund app available
43%
20%
27% 2 YES LEGAL & GENERAL / SKANDIA
0%
2007 2011 2015
17 NO
Mobile web surfing is estimated to overtake desktop web surfing by 2015
Source: Morgan Stanley Research data


PENSIONS SOCIAL MEDIA

LIKES / FOLLOWERS
30000

SOCIAL MEDIA CAN NO
LONGER BE IGNORED…
25000
it’s a powerful part of any modern marketing
programme. Facebook, for example, is used by
approximately 30 million people in the UK. But
as this chart shows, aside from Aviva and Virgin
20000
Money, social media is still unexplored territory
for many financial services companies in the UK.
They're missing the opportunity to engage with
their customers.
15000

10000

5000

0

FACEBOOK / TWITTER
INTEGRATION WITHIN WEBSITE
AV

VIR

SC

FID

LV

STA

LEG

PR

AE

SC

FR

NF

ZU

WE

ME

CA

AX

SK

SA
IEN

AN
OT

OT
UD

GO

NL
IVA

UM

AW
NA
RIC

TLI
GIN

SL
ELI

ND

AL

AM
T

T

EYA

DIA
EN

DS
N

DA
FE
H
TY
ISH

ISH

EA
UT
AR

&
MO

TIA
GE

L

N

LTH
L
UA
DL

IFE
WI

LIF

IFE
NE

NE

L

L
IFE
DO

E
Y

RA
W

L


PENSIONS CLEAR EXPLANATIONS THE PENSIONS INDUSTRY CAN BE JARGON-HEAVY.
We looked for websites that clearly explained their products to their customers, and informed us about key terms, from Auto-enrolment
to Stakeholder pensions. This page shows you, at a glance, which companies are using their websites to communicate well.
Four companies did not, in our opinion, provide a clear explanation of any of the terms: AXA Wealth, Canada Life, LV and Metlife.

7 / 7 TERMS 6 / 7 TERMS 5 / 7 TERMS 4 / 7 TERMS 3 / 7 TERMS 2 / 7 TERMS

We looked for these terms to be explained:
AUTO-ENROLMENT · GROUP PERSONAL PENSIONS · NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SAVINGS TRUST · PERSONAL PENSION PLAN · RETAIL DISTRIBUTION REVIEW
SELF-INVESTED PERSONAL PENSION · STAKEHOLDER PENSIONS

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: LONDON@LASTEXIT.TV • +44 (0)20 7407 7666 // NEWYORK@LASTEXIT.TV • 1(646) 347 4340 P 10

PENSIONS USABILITY PRESENTING FINANCIAL INFORMATION CLEARLY IS KEY.
The pensions process can be daunting for customers. This page contains two examples of websites we’ve selected for their ease of use.

NFU Mutual Aviva
employ clear calls to action on their website. They make it easy to clearly signpost their website sections. Information is relevant, well
“request a quote from your local branch”. organised and there’s good use of colour.


PENSIONS AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION WEBSITES THAT USE AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION
© DIGITAL BENCHMARK DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY WANT TO ANTICIPATE AND
UNDERSTAND CUSTOMER NEEDS.
People respond favourably to familiarity, personalisation and being able to follow a clear path to information that’s
relevant to them. Customers can be segmented by age group, income level, occupation or interests.

The Wesleyan Aegon
uses occupation segmentation to engage their key customers in the organises their website homepage so that it reflects the customers
medical, dental, teaching and legal markets. they want to engage. They helpfully split their website visitors into
individuals and businesses, aiding the user journey.


PENSIONS AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION, ELSEWHERE LOOKING BEYOND FINANCIAL SERVICES WEBSITES
© DIGITAL BENCHMARK CAN BE INSTRUCTIVE.
Established retailers and the motor industry are masters at segmenting their customers.

Mr Porter Volkswagen
By creating five character types on their website, the fashion retailer The car manufacturer anticipates customer needs, assisting the
makes engaging with their products easy and enjoyable. website visitor and making a purchase more likely.


PENSIONS ENGAGEMENT PENSION PRODUCTS CAN BE PLAYFUL.
Tools, games and gizmos can be used to cut through the jargon, and engage potential customers.
This page contain two examples of tools that we like.

Standard Life Fidelity
This Pension Calculator is easy to use and even fun to interact with. The ‘myPlan in retirement’ tool is a quick education. It allows
The results are easy to understand and thought-provoking. customers to easily estimate how long their savings will last in
retirement.


QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
How to reach us:
Last Exit is a digital agency with offices in New York and London. We exist to provide
unparalleled value to our clients through a rigorous, client-tailored planning process
and world class creative.

To discuss your digital challenges and initiatives, give us a call or email us using the
contact details below.

London office New York office
1st Floor, Building 1/2 200 Varick St. #802
The Leathermarket New York, NY 10014
Weston Street
London SE1 3ET t +1 646 307 4340
f +1 425 952 9597
t +44 (0)20 7407 7666
newyork@lastexit.tv
f +44 (0)20 7378 6431

london@lastexit.tv

Last Exit Benchmark Studies: Pension Funds Sector 2012

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