Correspondence: Merlin Stone, WCL Office, 83 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0HW, UK. E-mail: merlin.stone@w-c-l.com

¹is Research Director at WCL, Professor of Marketing at Bristol Business School and Visiting Professor of Marketing at Oxford Brookes, Portsmouth and De Montfort Universities.

Received 4 March 2009; Revised 4 March 2009.

Abstract

The importance of staying close to the customer in 'interesting times' has increased. Recent evidence shows not only the extent of use of the Internet and its perceived importance, but also the extent of use of Web 2.0. Comparison sites or aggregators have flourished. The effect of their arrival and of the practices of the most advanced web businesses in other sectors is likely to change the requirements of consumers as to how their relationships with suppliers should be managed – by both suppliers and customers. This paper summarises research carried out for SAP on the use of Web 2.0 techniques in financial services. It shows clearly that aggregators have taken the lead on the road to CRM 2.0 and Customer 2.0. However, they are followed by the banks, with one or two insurers on their tails. By focusing on the customer and kind of dialogue and information they feel customer wants, some companies are making good progress in real-time customer management.