How Do I Get a Good Start on the Web

Is your bank a website newbie? Usually the term applies to internet users who are neophytes in the world of browsers and chatrooms, but the same term could apply to community banks that haven't ventured into cyberspace at all or with only a basic informational website. Must these banks follow the same learn-as-you-go progression that the pioneers did? Or can they short-circuit at least a bit of the learning process? best teachers are the pioneers. went to a half dozen such banks, and asked them to share what they've learned. All the players we approached were willing to help other banks, but not all wanted to be identified. Some of their advice, because of differing local experience, may seem contradictory. In these cases it's important to understand that different strokes work for different folks--including yourself. What's your web philosophy? To a degree, what a website will do for your bank--and how successfully--hinges on what your bank's management thinks it will do for the bank. fair to say that internet-only banks have a mixed record, at best. most community banks won't be looking at that model, anyway. What they will want from the web is some variation of what they are already doing. The biggest point I'd relate is that I have never felt like the internet is much more than another delivery channel, says W. Page Ogden, president and CEO of $300 million-assets Britton & Koontz First National Bank. It's not the complete bank by any means. Natchex, Miss., bank has had a presence on the web since 1995, with much adjustment over time. While the bank's site does more than it once did, it has actually grown less graphic, and that's by design, according to Ogden. He says that the bank found that customers were more interested in speed than in looks, and realized that fancier graphics slows the loading, especially considering that most people still don't have high-speed access to the internet. That lesson is seconded by the other pioneers. Customers want to get to things without a lot of aggravation, says one. Neophytes who see the web as a route to earnings improvement had probably better swallow hard. We don't see it as a fee-generating item, says Gary Blossman, president of Parish National Bank, Bogalusa, La., which offers a very sophisticated site offering access to imaged checks and more. We see it as a means of providing a strategic service. In fact, the only thing we charge for is bill payment. First National Bank of Hudson, Wis., launched its first website in 1996, recalls Kenneth A. Heiser, president and CEO. Back then, it was a 'gee, whiz, look I've got,' deal, says Heiser. But it was just an electronic brochure. In 2000 the bank changed providers and began to develop its website as a community portal--i.e., a site where people come to first when logging on, and which provides a range of information with links to other sites. Visitors to Heiser's site can obtain weather, sports, and news in addition to using the $250 million-assets bank's web services. Time will tell whether this was the right decision, says Heiser. Marketing and pricing When Page Ogden looks back on his bank's web experience, he says he has regrets. they have nothing to do with technology or strategy. Instead, he wishes the bank had done more marketing, and devoted more time to web demonstrations and such. Ogden also wishes his bank had charged less for the service -- with the lower price creating more of a draw. Another tip about marketing from a banker who asked not to be identified: The internet banking customer is going to be more demanding than the customer who walks into your lobby. Anyone with a website is essentially promoting access at the customer's convenience. And if you promote it, people will expect it. …