Perhaps one of the most essential services that can be found in the online space is financial services. This is because money is consistently being sent and received across the internet and this shows no sign of stopping in the near future. In fact, it is estimated that billions are moved across the globe in any given year and that the financial services industry is only bound to grow by 6 percent in the next year. If you are in the process of developing a financial services platform, then you are likely already aware of how the already-saturated market is expanding by the day. As a result of this, extreme care must be put into the development of the platform itself if you are to gain the trust of your users over your competitors. If you are developing a financial services platform, consider the following tips to boost conversions:
1) Keep it simple:
There is certainly a niche of platforms for which a lot of complexity is appreciated but financial services are not one of them. This is because this class of platforms has to do with individuals or businesses handling their finances. When it comes to financial transactions, the biggest priority for them is efficiency and safety. While having a well-done and aesthetically-pleasing website is encouraged, distracting colors, excessive visuals, and numerous buttons only serve to confuse the user. Furthermore, the user is likely to get frustrated and leave the platform altogether if they are not able to quickly carry out their tasks. This is why your site has to be user-friendly and as easy to navigate as possible. It should be noted that most users do not wish to share their financial details with a plethora of financial platforms and so, they are likely to remain loyal to a single one if it meets their needs and allows them to carry out their tasks with ease.
2) Keep it safe:
The number of online financial scams was reported as at least 3.2 million in 2019 alone and this includes people tricked into giving up financial information online. Perhaps nothing is more important to people when making use of financial services, especially on the internet, than security. As a result, it is imperative that you place emphasis on this across your platform. On your homepage, have a welcome section that briefly states the type of encryption and other security measures taken by your platform to protect customer data. When a new user signs up, make sure a welcome is sent which states the same thing. This will go a long way in building customer confidence and attracting new users to your platform.
3) Offer ad-ons (or don’t):
Like any services platform, you do yourself and your customers a great disservice if you attempt to be a jack of all trades. From the onset, it should be clear from your website what your core services are. This helps to communicate your target market. PayPal, for example, primarily facilitates the sending and receiving of funds. While other services such as PayPal credit exist, they are given less prominence and their target demographic is not misunderstood. If a user visits your platform and cannot tell from the first page what your core services are, they will not likely take the time to investigate and will instead look elsewhere. Even before your platform development begins, determine what add-on services you will offer, if at all. If you do decide to offer ad-on services, make sure the primary attention is still placed on your core services. If executed correctly, the add-ons can act as an extra incentive for customers rather than a distraction.
4) Give support:
Customer support has evolved tremendously in the last few years as customers are now able to contact businesses in more ways than ever before and this is especially important for financial services platforms. When a person is in need of customer assistance with regards to a financial transaction, they are usually more anxious than usual and the quality of response from the service provider often dictates if they will continue to make use of their services or not. When developing your platform, make sure that customer information is prominently displayed on each page. One popular tool is the installation of a customer service chatbot which helps customers with simple inquiries and creates a communication line for further information. When developing a financial services platform, a prominent customer support structure will aid in converting new customers and will aid in customer retention in the future.
5) Know your market:
Unless your platform targets a mass audience like PayPal (which still practices audience segmentation), it is important that you know what your target demographic will be. Will you target business or individuals? Middle class or upper class? Working-class or students? This will inform everything from what type of aesthetics your platform will embrace to what types of services you offer. Preliminary research should be carried out to determine what demographic will be most attracted to your platform and work according to this information.
6) Ensure stability:
If you are anticipating any significant use of your platform, it is important that it be stable. There are numerous examples of even large platforms becoming overwhelmed with user visits and requests and this often leads to slowed down performance or the platform crashing altogether. If you are launching a new platform, such incidents can easily lose you the trust of your customers. As a result, consider outsourcing the development of your platform to a team that has relevant SaaS experience. They can aid in not only developing your platform bust ensuring that your data is well-hosted and this prevents crashes or overloads due to high user volume.
Financial services platforms are more common than ever and this means that your has to be optimized to convert as many visitors as possible. The above tips should set you on your way to achieving the best results possible.
