Lenders will face tough new standards for customer interaction from 1 April 2013, when the UK’s new financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will begin to apply measures to reduce ‘conduct risk’, placing customer needs at the heart of finance strategy, aiming to make certain that a company’s behaviour will result in good outcomes for consumers.
Key developments in the mobile space shape the way we behave towards and engage with brands. Mobile has a unique ability to connect channels and create seamless consumer experiences – for example, m-commerce allows consumers to shop on the go, social media apps enable customers to share and engage on the go while location based apps provide a valuable link between online and offline. Marketers must recognise the unstoppable rise and development of mobile technologies and prepare for an exciting 2013.
A snapshot of key official and Experian regional data released this month.
The internet has undoubtedly become a massive part of our everyday lives – and the figures are there to support this statement. By 2013, there are expected to be 48 million UK internet users, and according to Ofcom’s latest stats 76% of British homes are now connected to the internet, a huge jump from 2000 when the figure stood at just 25%.
The latest Insolvency Index from Experian®, the global information services company, reveals a significant drop in the rate of business insolvencies in January 2013, as it hits its lowest level since June 2007.
Data has undoubtedly been a marketing buzzword now for a number of years. On the marketing conference circuit in 2012, no agenda was complete without an array of presentations warning us to ‘watch out’ and telling us to ‘get ready’ for the Big Data explosion.
2012 was a busy year. A string of national and sporting events captured the hearts and minds of the British public and indeed the world. Meanwhile, consumer technology continued to evolve at an ever accelerating pace; mobile, tablet and network launches changed the way that we connect both professionally and personally, while social media and sharing became engrained in our everyday lives.
New legislation makes it more straightforward for local authorities and registered social landlords to deal with fraudsters and also means that information can be used more effectively to successfully tackle illegal sub-letting.
