Danske Bank takes advantage of the picture function to a certain degree. The bank does have a profile picture, which, as mentioned in the data collection, usually changes in order to reflect an on- going campaign. Danske Bank also has a category called “photos” on their Facebook page, which contains a few albums with various pictures. Below is a screenshot of how the album page appears when clicking on the “photos” category.
Screen dump of “photos”
As suggested, Danske Bank should strive to represent the physical aspects of the service on the Facebook page. However, despite the albums and photos, the shared pictures are
relatively static. No new photos or photo albums have been created since March 14th 2011 when this is written on May 31st. Also, many of the pictures are not very informative, meaning that they do not tell anything of particular value. Below are two examples of pictures with little value.
Photos with little value
The profile picture is however changed occasionally in order to reflect the ongoing campaign. In spite of this, the idea bank for housing financing closed June 14th, but six days later, on June 20th, Danske Banks still displays a photo connected to this campaign, as illustrated to the right.
Facebook also offers the function of video uploading. Danske Bank has uploaded some videos of different nature. Examples are videos where one can meet staff members, and also videos where people on the street have
been asked to share their opinion on Danske Bank. Furthermore, they upload short videos on how to use the online bank. Text can be displayed with the videos, offering further
explanation. Due to self-service options, such videos can be valuable for the customers. They can work as good explanations on how to do it, and/ or questions can be asked related to each film.
Danske Bank’s “how to do it” videos
This screenshot shows the instructive videos that Danske Bank has uploaded on their Facebook page. The videos are named: “transfer money”, “unblock your account”, “block card”, “name account”, “create depot”, and “pay bills”. When clicking on them, they will demonstrate how a customer can use their Internet bank for the most basic functions.
Ensuring a strong organizational image is also suggested to reduce intangibility, as it provides the customer with an idea of who an organization is, what they stand for, and thus what to expect from them. It can be argued that multiple cues can function as an aid when it comes to representing an organization’s image. Danske Bank uses the external platform of Facebook to present their brand, as similar to many other commercial actors. The page can be customized in order to fit the organization, even though it is within the frames of Facebook.
By this, everything shared on the page by Danske Bank might work as image building.
However, as discussed, Facebook is not a platform for the firm to share loads of content, but a place for customers to interact and contribute to the content themselves. Despite this, by just being present on Facebook might signal commitment to customers and a willingness to listen to them. A non- presence might on the other hand signal the opposite.
Danske Bank displays some information on their Facebook page, illustrated by this screen dump.
The category “information” on Danske Bank’s Facebook page contains a map on where to find Danske Bank’s main branch. They also link to their own homepage. Other aspects that are included in the “information” category are terms of use and what Danske Bank is responsible for on Facebook.
Translated
“Welcome to Danske Bank’s official Facebook page. Here you can receive news about the bank, and ask questions on the wall. You can also call the bank 24 hours a day on 70123456. Information posted by Danske Bank on this page is not considered counseling, and can therefore not replace a meeting with a Danske Bank official. You should therefore not use this page as a basis for making important economic decisions. We are not responsible for losses as a result of usage of this page. Danske Bank is not responsible for publications by members of the site. Posts should not be illegal or offensive. In such cases, posts will be deleted”.
Danske Bank does, as these examples show, not use their Facebook presence for a lot of company information. They only provide links from their Facebook page to their official homepage that their customers can make use of.
Language Variety
When analyzing Facebook through the media richness model it was found that Facebook allows for both written language and numbers. Facebook also offers the possibility of converting messages through videos. This means that Facebook is able to convey spoken language.
When looking for evidence of language variety helping to overcome the intangibility
challenge, it can first of all be stated that the language used by the employees at Danske Bank is of a neutral and polite manner. Also, in the videos, the Danske Bank representatives
express themselves professionally. Other evidence that is found where language variety can be useful for overcoming intangibility is when replying to customer posts. The written language that is used by the bank’s employees is neutral and professional. Slang and other variety are not observed. The bank also tries to reply in an objective manner, no matter if the customer post is in a non-polite tone.
Feedback
Facebook does not allow for concurrent feedback, meaning that Danske Bank’s Facebook page does not support simultaneous interaction. Sequential feedback is however possible to a certain degree as it is possible to give response to the sender, and the sender can reply to it.
The response can also be directed specifically to the receiver. As the physical branch has less and less relevance, this might be a way to create a dialogue with customers.
Other evidence found where feedback supports the challenge of intangibility, is the
possibility to provide feedback to pictures and videos. One can make comments or follow up questions to the videos and photos uploaded. An example is if customers address a question or follow up comment to a video uploaded, Danske Bank has the ability to reply. Customers also have the opportunity to discuss content provided by Danske Bank among each other. It has been argued that such discussions, also referred to as word-of-mouth, can make a service more tangible for a customer because it fulfills a need for information.
The aspects of intangibility make it more challenging for customers to make pre purchase evaluations. It is therefore suggested that stimulation of WOM should be done. Information and comments from customers are also suggested to be of a more trustworthy character than if it was coming from the company itself. In other words, stimulation of word-of-mouth can help customers in the pre-purchase decision process.
An example that generated word-of-mouth on Danske Bank’s Facebook page was the color change of the logo that the bank did on their physical branches as well as in commercials.
Danske Bank changed the logo on the branch buildings from blue and white to black and yellow. The color change was subject to a lot of discussion among customers. A lot of the posts were of a negative nature during this time period.
Example of discussion regarding the color change
The tread showed here starts with one customer stating that: “the new color gives a feeling of discount, and I’m not sure that I want a discount bank”. Danske Bank has answered that: “we understand that colors can give strong feelings of association, but the change is only
temporarily, and we are still the same bank”. Another customer has replied: “this is a stupid stunt to spend money on, and it signals a lack of seriousness”. Yet another customer replies that: “all my friends are laughing at this campaign. Though I still think you are a great bank, I look forward to the return of the old colors”. A customer replies that: “people should relax; it is still the same bank”. The last customer post states that: “Danske Bank is using their money
The above screenshot is included in order to illustrate how the color change of Danske
Bank’s logo generated a lot of discussion among the customers. The screenshot shown here is just one of many examples of discussions involving the color change of Danske Bank’s logo.
Another evidence of feedback that is discussed in the service literature, and that can help reduce the aspect of intangibility is post-purchase communication. It cannot be observed that Danske Bank encourages any form of post purchase communication. As mentioned in the theory description, post-purchase communication involves following up the customers after they have purchased a service. However, a lot of customers post complaints on the wall about previous encounters and experiences with the bank. Some are unhappy about the treatment they have received in a branch, and use Facebook to complain. Danske bank replies to these customers with an apology, and encourages them to make contact using a provided mail address, so that they can sort out the matter. There are also some positive comments, showing that some are willing to share positive experiences. However, Danske Bank does not
approach customers on the wall asking them about previous service experiences. Whenever a dialogue about previous service experiences happens on the Facebook wall, Danske Bank’s customers initiate it themselves.
Example of positive customer post
“I seriously love your service. I have never had any problems contacting you when something does not work. I just thought you should know that you have a very satisfied customer”.
Example of customer experience
“I think it is terrible that one needs to be cross- examined just to borrow 600 for half a month.
As a final comment the clerks said that I should teach myself to make my money last a whole month”.
This particular customer has chosen the Facebook wall to complain. This is not post-purchase communication initiated by Danske Bank, but by telling his experience, Danske Bank has the opportunity to follow up on a negative customer experience.
Personal Focus
When analyzing Facebook through the media richness model it was found that Facebook is a personalized platform. This is said because both name and a picture of the users are
displayed. This also allows Danske Bank to address answers to specific customers, making the communication personal.
Danske Bank uses three persons to answer customer questions. The answerers are called Pernille, Susanne and Thomas. The fact that there are no more than three persons at Danske Bank that are responsible for answering questions might contribute to personalization.
Customers have the opportunity to address one of these three employees directly if desired.
Though, no evidence of any customers doing this can be found on Danske Bank’s Facebook wall. On the other hand, Danske Bank cannot initiate contact with specific persons unless they make an activity firstly.
Facebook also allows for the opportunity to personalize the answers that Danske Bank provides to customer questions, with direct response to comments. In the case of Danske Bank, every reply starts by greeting the questioner by name and every answer is signed with the name of the employee that has answered the question. This gives the answers a personal feeling. On the other side, a picture presentation of the Danske Bank employees is not to be
Example of an answer to a customer question from Danske Bank.
Translated: “Hi Lars, we do not offer personally designed cards, as it is expensive and hard to administer. We would also like to have a recognizable card, in other words, that all our cards look the same. I hope you will find other good reasons for being a customer at Danske Bank. BR Pernille”.
Evaluating the fit
The media richness characteristics of Facebook have been looked at in order to determine the fit between the technological capabilities of Facebook in order to overcome the challenge of intangibility and less branch contact.
Intangibility and less branch contact
Facebook opportunity
Intangibility and less branch contact
Danske Bank’s utilization
Multiple cues ✔✔✔ ✔✔
Language variety ✔✔ ✔(✔)
Feedback ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔
Personal focus ✔✔ ✔✔
Table 4 Fit evaluation of intangibility and less branch contact
The multiple cues function is considered to offer high fit due to the photos and video uploads. As argued, videos in particular, are good in order to make the services as well as the employees at Danske Bank more tangible. Such uploaded material can also be used to create an organizational image. Despite this, Danske Bank should not
upload too much on Facebook as companies are advised to let the customers dominate the page. The photos that Danske Bank has upload can be argued to be of little
relevance to the purpose of overcoming intangibility, and it seem as the bank do not use the full potential of the multiple cues function to overcome intangibility. The bank’s utilization is therefore medium. As for language variety, communication mostly consists of natural language. This is not considered to be highly relevant for overcoming intangibility. However, language usage will be a part of sending a signal on the image they would like to possess, therefore it is set to be medium fit. Danske Bank’s language variety is set to be low to medium, as they potentially could have utilized the opportunity to post more numbers. As for the feedback aspect, Facebook is an open medium, and everyone can contribute, share and participate. The option of feedback is therefore considered a high fit for overcoming the challenge of
intangibility and less branch contact. People can create a dialogue and ask questions to reduce uncertainty due to the intangible aspects of the banking services. The Bank replies to a majority of customer posts, and therefore Danske Bank uses the feedback option to a high degree. In regard to the last aspect; personal focus, Facebook is fit in terms of creating a personal tone. Posts can be replied to directly in a personal manner. On the other hand, this technology is not considered to be a good medium for approaching customers and request them directly. As this technology is a user- generated forum, the customers should approach the bank. The personal focus is therefore considered medium fit, due to the fact that the bank cannot approach people unless they make themselves visible on the wall by a post or a contribution. Danske Bank uses this opportunity to a medium degree, as they answer directly to posts and greet people with their name, and sign with the name of the answerer.
Contactability
The concept of contactability concerns the amount of contact a financial service organization, Danske Bank in this case, has with their customers. Due to
technological innovations, customer contact has decreased as people execute a large part of their banking issues themselves. This can lead to Danske Bank getting less knowledge on their customers’ needs and wants, and that valuable day-to-day communication happens less frequently.
Multiple cues
Multiple cues on Facebook mainly constitute video and picture uploads. As for the contactability aspect, Danske Bank can upload such material on the page. This is however of little value if the bank does not get any response to it, as customer reactions should be essential for the contactability aspect. The customers have the ability to make comments on uploads, however, few examples of this is found.
Although, one example is found where customers give response to a video upload.
This is a video demonstrating how to pay a bill by just taking a photo of it. Below is the text from Danske Bank with the customer response.
screendump of comments below a video upload
Translated:
“Take a photo of your bill with your mobile phone and press pay. Today we introduce a new function in our mobile bank, making it possible to take a photo of the bill’s code line, making it unnecessary to type in all the numbers”
The customer comments below are positive, but two of them claim they could not make the function work. This is an example where Danske Bank can come into contact with its customers and get response from them. 136 people do in fact “like”
this, giving an indication that it is a popular feature launch.
The idea bank is an aspect that also will be discussed under multiple cues to cope with contactability. The idea bank allows people to post suggestions and others to vote for them. The idea bank seems to be a unique feature for Danske Bank. It is however the technical capabilities of Facebook that makes the “idea bank” possible. This idea bank is made in order to involve customers in the generating of new ideas in order to
develop more customer friendly products and services. This is an attempt that can be argued to work as increasing the contact between the bank and its customers. The ideas posted are valuable information for the bank on what the customers want, and do not want.
Personal focus and language variety
Personal focus concerns how well Facebook is able to convey personal messages, or facilitate communication in a personal way. Language variety is seen together with personal focus in this category, as they are closely related. As this banking task is concerned with customer contact, this is an important factor. During the examination of the Facebook wall it was found that answers from Danske Bank is addressed directly to the customers that have asked a question or made an inquiry. This entails that Facebook allows for communication from Danske Bank that is personally
addressed to their customers. However, these personal messages can only be directed at customers that have already reached out to Danske Bank. When it comes to Danske Bank, they have three different people answering the customer questions that are posted on Facebook. These are Thomas, Pernille and Susanne. They can be identified because they all sign their answers with their personal name. While observing the Facebook wall, it is found that all the answers and posts made by Danske Bank are
unreasonable customer posts in a decent manner. The communication that happens directly between Danske Bank and their customers are written, and the questions from customers are usually written in a natural language. The posts by Danske Bank are consistently written in a formal manner, in comparison to many of the customer posts that have more variation and slang. An important fact to take note of is that written answers might have a potential to be misunderstood. This is because written language includes fewer cues than face-to-face communication.
Below is an example where the customer is personally addressed, and signed with the name of the replier.
Screen dump of an answer from Pernille:
“Hi Poul, this sounds strange. Please write to us at kundehenvendelser@danskebank.dk - and we will look into the matter. BR Pernille”.
On the other side, the contact that can be made on Facebook has some constraints due to the openness of the medium. Everyone can see everything, and therefore very personal issues are not suitable on Facebook like for example personal economical matters.