CorpComms Magazine

Online banking group first direct is to showcase all customer opinions, including complaints, on a new microsite, firstdirect.com/live, that aggregates live comments from eight million social media sites.

The bank, which is consistently ranked number one for customer satisfaction, will not censor any opinions and will encourage feedback on a range of issues.

The move follows research conducted by first direct of more than 2,000 adults on the value they place on openness. It found that 79 per cent of people are active online each month, while 18 per cent contribute to online forums and 14 per cent pass on reviews and articles via the Internet.

The research also found that 67 per cent of people consulted family or friends before purchasing a product or service, while 56 per cent would use a price comparison site and just 25 per cent listen to sales assistants' recommendations.

Lisa Wood, head of marketing at first direct, said: 'The research shows that the banking sector does not score well when it comes to openness and transparency, but this is something we are keen to change at first direct with this microsite.'

Almost eight out of ten people said they would be more likely to buy from brands that are open and honest, but the research showed that most people do not consider businesses transparent. Google and Amazon scored most highly, recording 37 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, while Marks & Spencer scored 34 per cent. The banking sector scored poorly.

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