The 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 plans5

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

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

• 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

week 228

A new bankfound on internet

week 329

week 430

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– Ilona@webjuicer.be