Money Seekers Dump Applications Online

Out of those who apply for various financial services online, 54 percent are thought to abandon the process before it is completed.
The information people want about financial products tends to be hidden behind application processes on such websites. People who would like to see those details have no choice but to go through the process.
This may help the consumer, but it plays merry hell with the conversion rates. ComScore and Forrester Research looked into the issue of finance and abandonment, and found the devil in the details.
49 percent of applicants in their survey had no intention of completing an application process. That group cited a few reasons for why they entered a process on a financial website:
The top reasons cited by those who did not intend to complete the application included:
• Wanted more product information (23 percent) • Not ready to apply (19 percent) • Wanted to see if they qualified for the product (14 percent)
Forrester Research Senior Analyst Brad Strothkamp said of the conversion problem, "Today’s financial services sites have a ways to go at both understanding and solving this important issue."
There is an object lesson here for site publishers. If people enter a conversion process, then abandon it, and do so in sufficient numbers, it probably means there is a piece of information that belongs in a FAQ or help section that visitors wish to find.

PeopleJam Procures Financial Backing

Here’s the news: PeopleJam just raised some funds from AOL Time Warner’s former COO and the current CEO of TiVo. Here’s the background: PeopleJam is a social network that’s currently in an invitation-only testing mode; membership may or may not, as the homepage suggests, allow you to “take your life to the next level!”“At PeopleJam, you’ll have opportunities to connect with others who share your goals, ideals and values, as well as members who have been or are going through similar life experiences,” explains an “About Us” section. “You’ll also benefit from the diverse knowledge of hundreds of experts and life coaches who have joined PeopleJam to share advice and illustrative stories through video, articles and blogs on various life topics, including weight loss, relationships, personal finances and purposeful living.”The description then continues, “By participating in PeopleJam’s community and taking advantage of our easy-to-use features, you’ll be given the chance to act and build upon your hopes, dreams and aspirations.”I’m going to kind of back away and let you decide for yourself whether you buy that pitch. There’s at least one aspect of the site that I’m quite fond of, however - the picture of a boxer (the dog, not the fighter) at a computer.And I’ll give Bob Kriegel, a motivational speaker, credit for trying to make an automotive reference. “The thing that’s most important about a goal: passion, baby,” he states on the homepage. “Passion is like high octane fuel in your car. When you’re passionate about something, mountains seem like molehills.” Trouble is, high octane fuel does absolutely nothing for a car unless the car requires it. And if you put regular in a car that needs premium, it’s the molehills that’ll seem like mountains.Also, I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the site’s “Press Release” section - it only provides a link to Marc Graser’s article in Variety. That won’t interfere with the PeopleJam’s true purpose, however, and to each his (or her) own, etc.By the way, the amount of funding that PeopleJam received remains unknown, and it’s also unclear when the site will exit its invitation-only period.