The future of comparison websites in Belgium

1

• 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

4

NEED FOR SIMPLICITYExample: mobile providers

…some of them offering +10 tariff plans5

SEARCH FOR INFORMATION

HOW IT USED TO BE

2008

SHOWING ADS

LOOKING FORINFORMATION

6

LOOKING… More buying on line than in Holland Internet as a source for information

7

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

10

• 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

12

13

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%

14

15

Margins not hurt by comparison websites

ING.nl

BE

ING.Be

16

17

18

A booming Business

19

Turnover BeatThatQuote.com

20

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)

22

• 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)

24

http://www.checkit.nl/pdf/whitepaper_internet_en_financiele_dienstverlening.pdf

Iprospect (NL)

now

Jan Hilde

26

week 1

family & friends

bank websites

27

28

29

week 230

A new bankfound on internet

week 331

week 432

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

34

35

Belgium

36

The UK

Comparison site

Comparison site

Comparison site

Comparison site

37

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

40

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

41

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%

44

Belgian usage is low low

8.6%

45

Belgian trust is low

32%

= enough trust + lots of trust

65%

Negative effects for not-listed banks?

46

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…

48

49

But we know what consumers wantWhat other information would you like ?

50

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

51

• 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

53

Our plan: Info + Action + Ratings

Plus Ratings on suppliers

Top 5 search results for most of our sites

55

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

56

Our business model

Consumer focusConsumer Fair

Advertiser focus80% of companies

Neutral

Honest

Transparent

57

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)

60

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– Ilona@webjuicer.be