General PresentationThe future of comparison websites in Belgium
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• The Belgian Internet landscape• Comparison sites• Why do they work /international research• Belgian Research• Making a Belgian business• Discussion: making it work for you…
Today’s challenges
Information overload Matching consumers and advertisers Personal advice not general answers
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NEED FOR SIMPLICITYExample: mobile providers
…some of them offering +10 tariff plans4
SEARCH FOR INFORMATION
HOW IT USED TO BE
2008
SHOWING ADS
LOOKING FORINFORMATION
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LOOKING… More buying on line than in Holland Internet as a source for information
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Millions of sites…
2.2 million sites / 50,000 searches per month = 40 sites per search (NL) 520 site per search (FR) !!
Competition is tough
But hard is it really ?
• 1500 keywords (Insurance and banking)
• 4400 sites that showed up in a top 10 ranking
• 2 measures– Num = number of
appearances– Scores for positions
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• The Belgian Internet landscape• Comparison sites• Why do they work /international research• Belgian Research• Making a Belgian business• Discussion: making it work for you…
COMPARISON WEBSITES
Give objective information (usually) Compare prices (and ratings) 3 primary areas of business
Products Travel Financial Services
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1. People fill in personal data and needs
2. They compare the different rates
3. If they apply, the advertiser pays for the lead
How they work…
A simple business model• Costs per lead about the
same price as other leads
Mortgages• Typical price: 40-80 Eur• Print 60-140 EUR• Direct Mail: 60-80 Eur
But conversion rate a lot higher
Conversion Rates vs. Direct mail– Home loans +280%– Credit Cards + 80%– Insurance +170%
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Margins not hurt by comparison websites
ING.nl
BE
ING.Be
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A booming Business
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Turnover BeatThatQuote.com
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70different price comparison websites in UK
(even sites to compare comparison sites)
More than
Online verzekeren is het tweede internetproduct in NederlandSerge Fenenko (Novocortex) woensdag 6 februari 2008, 13:12Rubriek: Cijfers en feiten | Trends | Bekeken: 8551 keer (4861 keer doorgeklikt)
21% that looked on-line bought on-line
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)
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• The Belgian Internet landscape• Comparison sites• Why do they work /international research• Belgian Research• Making a Belgian business• Discussion: making it work for you…
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)
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http://www.checkit.nl/pdf/whitepaper_internet_en_financiele_dienstverlening.pdf
Iprospect (NL)
now
Jan Hilde
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week 1
family & friends
bank websites
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27
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week 229
A new bankfound on internet
week 330
week 431
The net result• Consumers
– Tired feet– Lots of insecurity about
the decision– “you gotta negotiate” is
the message for friends
• Banks– 1 in 8 hit rate– Lots of wasted time– Probably not much
margin– Hundreds in contact
costs
A lose / lose business model
Summary: why they work…
• Motivated consumers• Something advertisers could never
do• Win/ Win
– Consumers : easy– Advertisers: cheaper and they can select
clients
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Belgium
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The UK
Comparison site
Comparison site
Comparison site
Comparison site
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Not 7 less 3But a log difference
something like 27 vs 23
836 K vs. .5 K
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%
• The Belgian Internet landscape• Comparison sites• Why do they work /international research• Belgian Research• Making a Belgian business• Discussion: making it work for you…
Research• AFC: Academics for companies• Methodology: Web Survey to known internet
users• Data available
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Hypotheses• Online consumer behavior in
Belgium is similar to online consumer behavior in other EU countries.
• There is an unmet consumer need for online product research in the financial sector
• The online product research system has to be different from systems in other EU countries.
• Banks not listed at online financial product research systems experience negative effects
• Belgian online behavior is similar to other EU countries
• Consumers want more information, information they can’t find now
• Trust issues identified
• There would be a negative impact on companies not-listed banks
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Belgian consumers are also looking for financial information on line
41,5% of Belgian respondents have looked for financial product information online
Consumer information
68%
13%41%13%
11%15%11%
4%
Belgian results
52%
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Belgian usage is low low
8.6%
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Belgian trust is low
32%
= enough trust + lots of trust
65%
Negative effects for not-listed banks?
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Language Negative impact Still consult
FR 45% 89%
NL 44% 90%
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?
Planned usage is high
Imagine a site…
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But we know what consumers wantWhat other information would you like ?
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NL FR TOTALSpecific 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%
2 big issues to resolveTraffic = key element to the success of a price comparison website
No traffic = no businessSEO !
Consumer trust = key element to the success of a price comparison website
Do more than prices
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• The Belgian Internet landscape• Comparison sites• Why do they work /international research• Belgian Research• Making a Belgian business• Discussion: making it work for you…
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
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Our plan: Info + Action + Ratings
Plus Ratings on suppliers
Top 5 search results for most of our sites
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Building a brandConsumer Objective source of
information No privileged advertisers Personal results A new starting point for
important decisions in their lives
Advertiser Professional environment Qualified leads They choose their clients Quick delivery A new, easy way to attract
customers
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Our business model
Consumer focusConsumer Fair
Advertiser focus80% of companies
Neutral
Honest
Transparent
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That means a lot of business in many categories
Share of visits/ conversion rates based on data on our sitesConversion rates based on UK / Dutch results
Comparison vs. alternative media (price)
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A rough comparison vs. CPC (google)
Participation Options• Pay per click• Pay per qualified click/
completed application• Pay per sale (with
tracking systems)• Also banner / sponsor
advertising
Next Steps• More information
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/704747/Background.zip
• Contact– [email protected]