Wells Fargo is in the money business so it shouldn’t be surprising that its Web site is too. According to Forrester Research, Wells Fargo’s site is among the best at capitalizing on cross-channel selling opportunities.

Wells Fargo realized that many of its customers used multiple channels when researching or applying for loans. Some came to the bank in person, others called on the phone and still others filled out forms via the bank’s Web site. But there was no simple way to track the loan application process end-to-end, especially when multiple channels were used.

Wells Fargo decided to tackle the problem online. Earlier this year, the bank introduced an enhanced form of loan application that lets customers apply via their preferred channel (store, telephone or online), but check the status of their application online. Loan applicants can also opt for personalized, proactive e-mail updates, further streamlining the process.

"Our goal is to service our customers when, where and how they want to be served," said Avid Modjtabai, executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo&singlequot;s Internet Services Group. “Providing customers with a seamless and convenient experience encompassing phone, store and Internet is a key component of our strategy.”

The result? Wells Fargo saw an 83% lift in online consumer sales as of June 2003 from a year earlier.

Wells Fargo has implemented similar strategies on the commercial side, and realized similar gains. For example, in just three years since Wells Fargo introduced its Commercial Electronic Office (CEO) portal, an online portal aimed at small business customers, more than half of Wells Fargo&singlequot;s commercial customers have enrolled in the online channel. And year over year growth in revenue generated from the CEO portal was up 65% as of June 2003 over a year earlier.

Wells Fargo also offers customers many online self-directed tools to make their job easier, including self-guided online tutorials, a self-administrative module and self-help.

"It&singlequot;s not just what we deliver, but how we deliver,” said Danny Peltz, executive vice president for Wells Fargo&singlequot;s Wholesale Internet Solutions. “We are taking customer-centric to the next level. We go to great lengths to diagnose our customers&singlequot; needs in order to deliver industry-leading solutions that simplify their lives."