Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Usernames and passwords: everybody hates them

"Many Americans would rather clean toilets than try to come up with a new username or password for sites requiring online logins, a new study shows."*

Protecting confidential information within biller self-serve websites through enrollment, and the choosing and remembering of a unique username and password is a process that is universally hated by consumers. So, the question is: if everybody hates it, why is it still so prevalent?
 
As a test, I called up my utility, my insurance company, my bank and my credit card provider: Each time I was asked one, two or three very simple questions to ascertain my identity. I was then allowed full access to my account information. If I can do this over the phone, why can’t I do it online?

For example, if this was my credit card provider it could be:

which-is-easier-more-convinient-for-you
 
Delta is the only website I know of that had this very convenient way to access my SkyMiles account and I never had any trouble logging in. Recently they too moved to usernames and passwords. I have since reset my password three times and called them twice because I forgot one or the other. It’s been a lousy experience for me, and one that has already cost them more than $50 in customer service.

Enrol online and you assume all the risk


In all instances the biller knows enough about their customers to eliminate the need for usernames and passwords. Instead, billers could present a set of questions based on customer's personal information, known to both parties (referred to as shared secrets) – such as partial social security or credit card number, date of birth or a combination of these. The less sensitive the information being accessed, the less stringent the questions can be. A utility and a credit card provider would have very different levels of questions.

So why do most/all billers still request usernames and passwords?  The answer is in liability. The biller is passing the ‘risk’ of transacting online onto their consumer.

Here is an excerpt from a major US eBilling website’s Terms & Conditions:

terms-and-conditions

Consumers inevitably use the same usernames and passwords as often as possible and in many instances they are so simple that they can be guessed or hacked with ease. Thus this process is simply not secure. Research published in Digital Journal proves this:  ‘Password’ is the number one chosen password and ‘123456’ is the second. The biller allows this, as they have passed the onus onto the consumer to create good passwords.

There is also massive cost to the biller: Forgotten passwords and other password related problems are the second most common help desk call. (According to Forrester Research, the average cost of a help desk call is about $25.)

In summary:


  1. Customer created usernames and passwords are not secure
  2. It’s a terrible customer experience
  3. It’s costly for the biller
  4. It’s high risk / not secure for the customer

There has to be a better way. There is a better way:

It’s time to eliminate usernames and passwords forever! You can do so while maintaining the appropriate levels of security, and delivering the best possible customer experience.

Do you want to know how you can do the same for your customers?  If so, then get in touch with us
contact-us

Reference:

* Fox small business center
Digital Journal

Garin Toren
striata.com

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

On which device are you reading this email?

Quick poll results highlight importance of enabling readability of email across devices

There’s a lot of focus globally on optimising email in order to cater for the mobile user. Tablets are sexy, smartphones are heading towards ubiquity and the good old PC/laptop is . . . rather last season.

But should email senders focus on customising emails for mobile devices to the detriment of the desktop user?

We decided to work with our largest clients to get first-hand feedback on which devices people are mostly using to read their emails. We approached six of our clients with large consumer bases and borrowed some real estate on their emails to run a poll entitled: Which device are you reading this on?

The response options were simply:
  • PC/Laptop
  • Smartphone
  • Tablet


Mobile - increasingly the devices of choice

While this is by no means a formal study, the results did confirm what most of the global research has indicated: 68.6% of respondents were viewing the email on a desktop/laptop, compared to 22.7% on a smartphone and 8.7% on a tablet.
graph1

The participating organisations were all operating in an emerging market and spanned across a number of verticals including retail, telecommunications, media and entertainment. The campaigns that carried the poll represented a good range of communication types including newsletters, account default notifications, eStatements and product brochures.

While most of the verticals followed the same split as above, telecommunications had a proportionally higher number of tablet users.
graph2

Time of day is definitely a factor

Another interesting finding was a view of the device usage by time of day.

While the majority of respondents on PCs/Laptops answered the poll during working hours (08h00 – 16h00); usage of this device tapered off dramatically after work hours. Comparing this to respondents using smartphones or tablets, it is evident that the usage of mobile devices is higher in the afternoon and evening than in the morning.
graph3

From this view we can also see that most of the emails (across devices) were read between 11h00 and 15h00, with a peak read rate at 14h00.


What can we conclude from this exercise?

Firstly, that we have GREAT clients who are open to ideas, so we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for giving us space on their email communications and for allowing us to poll their customers – you know who you are!

Secondly, that while the majority of email recipients who responded to the poll accessed the email on a PC or laptop, there is a significant usage of mobile devices (29% if you add them together).

We anticipate that email access from mobile devices will increase in 2013, and into the future when tablets and laptops converge into a single killer device. Are you ready for the mobile revolution?

Keen to get your emails mobile ready? Here is some suggested reading:

striatas-new-mobile-email-white-paper   mobile-email-document
Nicola Els
striata.com

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Leveraging Big Data to deliver the one-to-one message? Don't get caught in a trap

I attended a retail banking conference recently, where the conversation surrounding customer service was more present than I ever could have imagined. I’m no cynic, in fact, I don’t even dabble much in sarcasm but the sincerity of the conversation surprised even the Candide in me.

Financial institutions not only want deposits but also customer attention. They take pride in net promoter scores and use them to swagger at these industry events.  By slicing and dicing customer data, they are able to tell the right customers about free coin counting machines, public restrooms or doggie treats in branch. Some financial institutions feel it’s their USP and the reason that each customer is going to feel cared about.  And I am dead serious about these offerings; I listened to a great speech by First Direct about those very services.

That said, Big Data was proposed to hold the secret to excellent, personalised customer service, perhaps even more than doggie treats. The idea is: take Big Data, analyse it and create the perfect one-to-one marketing message.

Sadly for most financial institutions, the next logical step after analysing their Big Data and creating the message is often not considered. It is hard to imagine investing millions in cultivating Big Data to the point of personalised messages only to send the sweet creatures off to the spam slaughterhouse. As much time and attention should be given to the delivery of the message as is to data collection and analytics. If not, much of the investment is lost.

You’ve got the perfect message, but you’re caught in a trap

The fact is that 20% of legitimate batch email is delivered straight to SPAM folders which means a lot of lost investment, a lot of lost opportunity.  I don’t care if you are a hegemon, a mom and pop shop, or whether or not your customers have consented to being emailed. Unless you use a specialist email supplier with a credible sender score, your emails are at risk of never being read.

As volume plagues inboxes, SPAM filters are becoming more and more sophisticated in order for ISPs to protect customers from sheer harassment.  I am personally an advocate of these filters increasing in sophistication, as I recently missed an email from my Mom in the jungle that is my inbox. Sorry Mom, I did love the biscuits, thank you.

Don’t lose your one-to-one marketing messages to the ISP sieves that are becoming increasingly finer.


cartoon-strip

Marketing messages and the lost touch point

While most financial institutions have their eyes on the prize of cutting paper and postage costs, the paperless replacement is often an untouched space. I am a customer of Orange and was defaulted to paperless statements, meaning I had to make an effort to log on to the portal to see what’s what every month. After I signed up for Direct Debit, I never made that effort (except after an unfortunate use of Google maps in Paris which shocked even the likes of me).  I had no need whatsoever to log on to the portal and therefore, any Marketing Messages they hoped to get to me as a customer have been lost.

Remember that getting into the inbox is everything when it comes to extracting the value from Big Data and personalisation.

Big Data is only big business when it results in big revenue, and to get that you need to get the message through.

Use a specialist email provider to GET THERE - keen to know more? Then get in touch!

Sarah Appleby
striata.com

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

13 Unlucky for some? 13 Tips for successful email marketing in 2013!

Seeing that I am kicking off our blog this year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a prosperous and productive 2013! For some, it’s the dreaded 13. But to ensure your campaigns are a success, follow this 13 point checklist and it will be a great year for your emails.

13-must-dos-or-2013


Share these 13 Tips: 





Now that you are armed with an eMarketing checklist, you can easily get the basics of your email campaigns right. In doing so, you can be assured that your customer will have a pleasant experience with your brand… in their inbox!

If you would like more information on how to get it right with email, then get in touch with one of our email marketing experts.

Ross Sibbald
striata.com