On the right course
Moving forward
Building a banking community
The website team, made up of representatives from a variety of
Rabobank departments, worked to develop a stronger organisa-
tion and clear definition of responsibilities across the board. The
development of a senior users' group and an editorial board will
also ensure that the site will be well supported into the future.
This year, the team will start the global rollout of the site, and the
alignment of all of Rabobank Wholesale's secured portals.
The close cooperation of the different groups involved is
responsible for the overall success of Phase one of the project,'
says Theo van Koningsveld, Manager E-distribution Wholesale.
That same cooperation and dedication will be essential to the
future development of the site.'
The new www.rabobank.com puts the customer in the
spotlight, and focuses on providing the most convenient and
satisfactory customer experience possible. However, in order
to expand on this idea, more work is needed to bring all online
Communications in line with this strategy.
Lilian Scholing, Communications, and Harold van Herksen, IS&D
E-distribution, are responsible for making sure that the strategy
is fulftlled. 'While it was important to develop a more attractive
site that is fully aligned with our house style, we were also
focused on creating a foundation for a much more developed
site,' Scholing says. 'That meant looking at the site from the
perspective of all of our key audiences and customers, and
determining the best ways to serve their needs.'
Further development includes both the scheduled releases
planned for the immediate future, as well as for the years
to come. 'As the project moves forward, we are developing
ways to efficiently bring all other online communication tools
in line with our new strategy and focus. That will take a lot
of planning and cooperation,' Van Herksen says. 'In the end,
the site will serve as a key channel for overall marketing and
communication objectives.'
Phase two of site development will focus on three key areas.
First, the alignment of all of Rabobank's existing websites into a
single, cohesive, easy-to-navigate site with a single point of entry.
Second, the alignment of all of RI's online transaction platforms
into the website. And third, further development of the new site
to stimulate marketing opportunities and increase cross-sell.
'This is the time when the cooperation and commitment of
the international offices is crucial,' Van Herksen says. 'The
more involved the individual countries can be in the global
rollout of the website, the more we can ensure that the
needs and requirements of each individual office can be
met,' he says. Requests are already coming in from various
countries, for features and functionality specific to that
country or business area.
Planning is now underway for the site's global rollout, and the
teams are hard at work with planning and site analysis. The
readership statistics that come in each day will be one of the
ways in which the web team can make strategie decisions for
the best way to move forward. Team involvement is another.
'Within the next year, the site will undergo a tremendous amount
of development,' Scholing says. 'Changes will happen fast, and
we'll focus on fulftlling the needs of each international office.'
The sooner the individual countries can get involved, the more
opportunities for strong development will become apparent.
'Not only will we rely on the countries to inform us about the
specific needs of their customers,' Van Herksen explains, 'but
we'll also use their suggestions for new features and opportuni
ties for broad-scale online marketing.'
Teams are now being formed that will help guide the devel
opment of the site. However, more support is still needed
from various international offices in order to bring the plan
ning into focus.
'My vision is that in five years, www.rabobank.com will provide a
"banking community" that seamlessly enables customers to see
all of their banking information in a very secure way. Products
will be co-created with the involvement of different depart
ments, and Rabobank's site will provide the platform to build
real solutions instead of selling scattered individual products,'
Van Koningsveld says.
The realisation of that vision will require the input and involve
ment of Rl teams on all levels. To find out how you can help,
or to make suggestions for further site development, please
contact the web team at EdistributionSM@rabobank.com.
Issue 13 February 2007
The Word
23
