The relevance of the web to today’s business enterprise is now an assumed necessity. Yet, in the context of rapidly evolving technologies, tools and behaviors, Web 2.0 and social media are redefining the web from a purpose-built channel to a core-to-business platform. It is not the dot com of your business that matters, but the capabilities, the depth and breadth of the web-as-business that matters.It is within this rapidly evolving context that businesses are forging not only better incremental gains and saving but also creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Traditional advertising is evolving into full voiced communication, branding into identity, and order taking and sales into relationships. This new definition of web-as-a-channel is cutting right across the firm to build a tighter, firmer, and more aware organization that is tuned to the customers’ needs.Let’s look at the key value propositions of direct channel portals
- Optimized resources – With a virtual office the need to physically allocate more resources in the branches is reduced significantly. In fact, lending institutions can create easy-to-follow and comprehend walk-throughs on their portal that can enhance usability and provide a rich portal experience without additional overheads on resources and staff.
- Data integrity – Since data remains collated within a singular location, its integrity is undeniable at all times. Sabotage is out of the question and even a sudden surge in demand will not throw the system off track.
- Multi-point sale – The portal’s real estate is more effective than the next door branch. Couple this with well planned marketing; multi-point sale doesn’t remain a myth. Visitors can choose what they want, self service their needs through intelligently designed UI, and compare different products.
- Simplified integration – Be it upstream or downstream systems, direct channel portals can seamlessly integrate with existing systems and thereby provide a singular data stream with zero intrusion. This allows possibility of expansion and segregated products for different types of media without risk to the data’s integrity.
Today’s competitive business landscape demands faster time-to-market for a new product. Customers demand seamless servicing and will not accept slow or failed communication..
