Reports

11 July 2011

What's the report all about?

In this, the latest communications report compiled and produced by Precedent, we assess how financial service companies in the UK are leveraging the broader web to engage with their customers online and whether they are beginning to embrace the opportunities that mobile platforms provide.

The conversation about their services and products (and therefore their reputation) is increasingly being conducted away from their websites, in the social media space. The question is, how well are they engaging in those conversations? How well are they using them to enhance their reputation, and ultimately drive business to their websites?

Similarly we wanted to look at how well their websites cater to the needs of the man on the street – are the features and services that they are likely to expect available and easy to use?

Which organisations did we look at?

We wanted to look at a broad range of companies offering a selection of products and services in the following categories:
• Banks
• Building societies
• Asset management
• Insurers, life and pensions
• Online only financial services firms

In order to select companies we took a random sample of 10 from the most well-known high street brands in each category. Despite some of them being less well-known, we felt it was important to include companies that are providing a product, or service, purely online in a distinct category, since we anticipate that these will be the most innovative online and potentially provide the best practice and benchmarks to which the others might aspire.

What were we looking for?

Our assessment was mostly quantitative running across digital channels including web, blogs, social, mobile and video/audio. A key question will be the degree of integration across these channels, and therefore the cohesion of the user-journey. Where appropriate we identified and featured examples of best and worse practice.

Broad themes discovered whether channels are being used appropriately to deliver thought leadership and insight, customer services, marketing and campaigning (in promotion of products and services) and transactional services.

What did we find?

We identified which categories of financial service companies in the UK are making the most use of the contemporary digital landscape, along with examples of best practice that all may learn from.

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15 November 2010

In this, the most recent of our reports in to communications with in the education sector, we discuss the idea of HEIs being 'lobal'.

Challenging the old mantra of 'think global, act local' this reports considers switching it to, 'think local, act global'. It encourages UK HEIs to make an authentic effort to understand the ideas, concerns and expectations of international students, or the region in which they live, and use those insights to shape their offer and portfolio accordingly.

This 'lobal' approach allows institutions to respond to market requirements and opportunities and build a global reputation for being international student-minded and for delivering real value in specific sectors.

To receive your free copy of this report and discover its findings on the future of true international communications for universities, please register online or email reports@precedent.co.uk.

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8 February 2011

It is increasingly evident that mobile has established itself in the hearts and minds of consumers as well as in the strategies of organisations. With our mobile phone, whether we are aware of it or not, we are effectively carrying "mini computers" in our pocket.

The opportunity to leverage this computing power, to become part of people's daily activities and interactions is there for the taking; 2010 was the year that mobile really started to deliver ROI, with £2 billion in global mobile sales.

Quite simply, mobile growth continues to rise and those organisations that embrace the mobile platform put themselves in a stronger position to reach more people.

Request a copy of this, the first in our series of whitepapers, to find out more about mobile and how to make it work for you.

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1 September 2009

We are pleased to unveil the latest report in our education series,Alumnergraduates – Aligning the alumni and student experience online. The report details the findings from practical as well as desk research, and includes numerous examples. The new report suggests that more should be made of the alumni from the very beginning, encouraging students to think of it as something present and something that they can get involved with from the start. It challenges accepted perceptions and suggests that an online structure should be provided to allow all students, new and old, to feel like a part of the fabric of the university they attend/attended.

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1 April 2010

What does a council website need to do? Who visits them and why?

This groundbreaking report analyses the websites of 101 shire councils, 22 city councils, 11 town councils and nine regional councils against a range of criteria.

It challenges local authorities to take notice of the importance of their web presence and reputation online.

While looking at best practice and trends, it also considers new innovations and technologies that are opening up across public service sector websites.

It provides councils with handy hints on where they may be going wrong as well as how they can hope to rectify this for a clear and effective online offering.

Please register your interest if you would like to receive a copy of this report.

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22 February 2010

Communicating and campaigning in the third sector online: more than just your website, it's your web presence that counts

The report investigates the web sites and further online campaigning strengths of 60 charities from four income brackets and across five broad ‘sectors'.

It not only assesses these websites against a set of basic criteria, but also examines the ability of the charities' websites to communicate their message(s), encourage action and integrate with the broader media landscape to campaign and encourage involvement as well as support that involvement.

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6 July 2009

Fierce competition, differential fees and a looming ‘sub-prime’ crisis mean tough times ahead for the UK Higher Education sector. With more ‘established’ universities focussing on the value of a ‘traditional’ British university education, our latest report explores the opportunities, innovations and trends for the ‘modern’ universities in the UK Higher Education sector.

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3 August 2009

In the face of differential fees and a fully-fledged ‘credit crunch’, the challenge of distinguishing the offer of traditional universities is felt across the UK Higher Education sector. With the increasingly commercial, customer-focussed approach of ‘modern’ universities, we explore the ‘traditional’ trends – and some of the most adventurous websites seen in the sector.

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14 April 2009

How business-like are Foundation Trusts online? Web is now an integral part of improving service delivery and patient experience, helping to face the challenge of marketing direct to the public. Our report explores the best practice, trends and innovations creating efficiencies across the sector, and making the ‘patient-centred’ mantra come to life online.

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24 July 2009

What does a Primary Care Trust site actually do? Who visits them and why? This report challenges PCTs to take notice of the importance of their web presence and reputation. It explores the best practice, trends and innovations which are opening up across healthcare sites and gives PCTs handy hints on where they may be going wrong and how they can rectify this to make for a clear and effective online offering to their public.

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