Web Site ROI for RBC Royal Bank

The Issue

RBC Royal Bank, a leading Canadian bank, had undertaken a major redesign of its public Web site. To help guide - and justify - future investments in its site, the bank's online marketing team needed to assess the impacts that its public site had on marketing objectives.

The Solution

Phase 5 worked with RBC to develop a performance measurement framework and a comprehensive list of metrics to support it. The framework included tracking core business impacts, communication and branding and cross-channel impacts.

To implement the measurement strategy, Phase 5 collected data both before and after the launch of the redesigned Web site. Information sources included online visitor surveys, usability testing and the analysis of internal traffic and sales data.

The Results

Here are just some of the benefits RBC Royal Bank realized from the engagement:

• A validation of the user-centred design process. By measuring before and after, RBC's Web marketing team was able to link increases in customer satisfaction, perceptions and performance on key metrics such as navigation and ease of use to the new design. The client also saw a significant increase in the number and quality of online applications after launching the new site.

• A better understanding of site visitors in terms of their demographic profile, customer segment and financial institution affiliation.

• An understanding of the events, needs and motivations that trigger visits to the site.

• Insight into the effects the Web site had on usage of branch and telephone channels.

• An advanced analytical model to help the client set priorities for future enhancements and allow them to predict impacts on key objectives.

• A detailed assessment of the site's usability.

• Comprehensive recommendations for increasing the value of the site to both customers and the bank.

Additional Learning

Investing the time in developing the metrics before developing a research methodology paid dividends in terms of the usefulness of the performance measurement data.

Phase 5 facilitated a planning session with RBC stakeholders that allowed the team to step back and focus on core business and marketing objectives rather than site attributes. This ensured that the attributes we measured contributed to strategic objectives.

To request a white paper that describes Phase 5's approach to developing a Web performance measurement strategy, contact Michael Dolenko at (416) 599-7555 ext. 224.