Survey: Firms failed to use websites to reassure clients

The majority of financial services firms did not include information about the financial crisis on their websites’ home pages from when the crisis began in October through February, according to a study released today by Weber Shandwick. A full 66% of the 55 U.S. and European firms surveyed by the New York-based public relations agency did not offer any information during that period. The study looked at the home pages of securities firms, commercial banks, financial-data-service firms, private-equity and investment firms, and sovereign-wealth funds. Most of the firms were Fortune 500 companies, Weber Shandwick reported. When firms did communicate about the financial melee, many offered general economic updates and statistics — 33% by the end of February, up from 19% in mid-October. Many firms stepped up online material that stressed company strength and longevity; growing 25% in February, from 19% in October. Firms that posted messages reassuring customers about their financial security grew from 12% to 15%. The most common methods used were corporate statements, commentaries and reports, which were featured on home pages by 34% of the firms by the end of February, as opposed to 19% in October. The use of videos increased to 14%, up from 10% in October. "Our ongoing analysis leads us to recommend to financial services companies that they use their low-cost, high-impact home pages to communicate more directly and personally with their stakeholders," Barb Iverson, president of Weber Shandwick's financial services industry practice group, said in a statement. "It's not enough for leading financial services companies to communicate only in good times,” she said.