Banks must embrace social computing to avoid undermining brand confidence, according to analysts.
Forrester Research says only a third of British consumers trust financial firms to treat them fairly and honestly.
‘The gradual change in consumer behaviour is a result of new internet technologies including blogs, user review sites and online forums – which we call social computing,’ said Forrester's Benjamin Ensor.
According to Ensor social computing has enabled people to share tips, find product information, shop around and air their discontentment.
‘All this shifts the balance of power towards consumers and we think that’s going to force financial services companies to give them a better experience.’
Ensor believes financial service companies should participate and improve their communication with customers through social technologies including blogs, forums, podcasts.
'If companies don't adopt the new technology their brands are at risk of being undermined and undifferentiated,' says Ensor.
Ensor says financial services companies can be complicated and appear to do things that don’t seem to be in the consumer's interest even though they are forced to do so because of regulations.
Ensor says although there are no established best practices yet Nationwide and first direct are the leading firms in social computing. Both have dedicated technology teams experimenting with online communication methods.
Nationwide hosts ‘talk back’, an online open forum between senior executives and customers, and published the transcripts on its site.
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