Comments on: Is My Citi Credit Card Using Creative Marketing or Is It Up To Something Else? http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/ A personal finance blog where we share insights on carefully saving money, investing, early retirement, mortgages, stocks because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom! Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:16:11 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: MoneyNing http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3422 MoneyNing Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:41:54 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3422 kev: I'm glad you noticed this too! As long as we are alert, we should be okay! kev: I’m glad you noticed this too! As long as we are alert, we should be okay!

]]> By: kev http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3400 kev Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:50:34 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3400 Hey, I just stumble upon your website. I noticed the odd user interface at Citi's site, too. Although, as a brand new customer, I was unaware they didn't always do it this way. I definitely think they're trying to trick those of us who pay our statement balances in full each month. They definitely didn't set up the interface this way to be user friendly - it's unintuitive and confusing (the opposite of user friendly)! Those tricksters... Hey, I just stumble upon your website. I noticed the odd user interface at Citi’s site, too. Although, as a brand new customer, I was unaware they didn’t always do it this way.

I definitely think they’re trying to trick those of us who pay our statement balances in full each month. They definitely didn’t set up the interface this way to be user friendly – it’s unintuitive and confusing (the opposite of user friendly)!

Those tricksters…

]]> By: MoneyNing http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3253 MoneyNing Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:34:20 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3253 alicia: Thanks :) If you need a beta tester next time you build some website, let me know :D alicia: Thanks :) If you need a beta tester next time you build some website, let me know :D

]]> By: alicia http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3227 alicia Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:58:22 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3227 I appreciate you being open-minded! Unless you've had some reason to see this sort of thing firsthand, there's no way to know. Cheers. I appreciate you being open-minded! Unless you’ve had some reason to see this sort of thing firsthand, there’s no way to know. Cheers.

]]> By: MoneyNing http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3169 MoneyNing Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:05:16 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3169 alicia: You've convinced me that the corporate execs are far enough away from the IT guys for something like this to happen. I guess I was thinking too small scale and was complaining about everything like usual :) Thanks for the insight :) alicia: You’ve convinced me that the corporate execs are far enough away from the IT guys for something like this to happen. I guess I was thinking too small scale and was complaining about everything like usual :) Thanks for the insight :)

]]> By: ningpo http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3158 ningpo Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:21:03 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3158 good point. as much as i would love to wring all of "their" (i'm not really paranoid, it's just simpler::-) ) necks, i've just not come across many companies which had the "you don't qualify" button up front or the "are you sure you want / need.... our product"... know what i mean? the dutch say that all the "stuff" comes from the states, although i don't totally agree, alot does, the loan companies are popping up like mushrooms and finally they are doing pre-feasability studies to insure the customer can afford the loan. yes! good point. as much as i would love to wring all of “their” (i’m not really paranoid, it’s just simpler::-) ) necks, i’ve just not come across many companies which had the “you don’t qualify” button up front or the “are you sure you want / need…. our product”… know what i mean? the dutch say that all the “stuff” comes from the states, although i don’t totally agree, alot does, the loan companies are popping up like mushrooms and finally they are doing pre-feasability studies to insure the customer can afford the loan. yes!

]]> By: alicia http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3157 alicia Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:10:15 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3157 Definitely. What I'm trying to say is that the people at Citibank who make decisions about this sort of thing are miles away from the dudes at the top who get rich off people making only the minimum payment. I mean, you don't think they all sit in a big room together to plan this stuff, do you? Or that a memo came down straight from the top that said "Make the statement balance the third-most prominent account detail instead of the first"? I'd be shocked if the execs had even seen the updated page. This looks to me like a straightforward website-usability issue. And based on the projects I've been on, high-level corporate planning and web-usability decisions simply aren't related. It's the corporate planning that screws consumers over. Looking at this page, I'm guessing they're catering to people who use their online account to keep track of their balance. If you think about it, this is a good arrangement for folks like that. The fact that they're trying to create a hierarchy of information (using blue bars to highlight what their research says are the two most important things to their users) means they're trying to make the page more useful, not less. You're certainly entitled to be irritated by the new layout. It would just be more accurate if you were irritated that the page caters to people who use the site differently than you do. If you're looking for corporate malfeasance and manipulation on Citibank's part, there are a lot more obvious places to look than this. Definitely. What I’m trying to say is that the people at Citibank who make decisions about this sort of thing are miles away from the dudes at the top who get rich off people making only the minimum payment. I mean, you don’t think they all sit in a big room together to plan this stuff, do you? Or that a memo came down straight from the top that said “Make the statement balance the third-most prominent account detail instead of the first”? I’d be shocked if the execs had even seen the updated page.

This looks to me like a straightforward website-usability issue. And based on the projects I’ve been on, high-level corporate planning and web-usability decisions simply aren’t related. It’s the corporate planning that screws consumers over.

Looking at this page, I’m guessing they’re catering to people who use their online account to keep track of their balance. If you think about it, this is a good arrangement for folks like that. The fact that they’re trying to create a hierarchy of information (using blue bars to highlight what their research says are the two most important things to their users) means they’re trying to make the page more useful, not less.

You’re certainly entitled to be irritated by the new layout. It would just be more accurate if you were irritated that the page caters to people who use the site differently than you do. If you’re looking for corporate malfeasance and manipulation on Citibank’s part, there are a lot more obvious places to look than this.

]]> By: Amanda http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3152 Amanda Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:23:40 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3152 Very subtle tactic... I noticed the change but I never thought through the motivation. These companies know what they are doing! Very subtle tactic… I noticed the change but I never thought through the motivation. These companies know what they are doing!

]]> By: MoneyNing http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3131 MoneyNing Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:24:50 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3131 alicia: It wasn't totally obvious but now i know :) Do you get requirements from your customers though? I'm sure they tell you what they want to highlight and show right? alicia: It wasn’t totally obvious but now i know :)

Do you get requirements from your customers though? I’m sure they tell you what they want to highlight and show right?

]]> By: alicia http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/comment-page-1/#comment-3129 alicia Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:07:09 +0000 http://moneyning.com/credit-cards/is-my-citi-credit-card-using-creative-marketing-or-is-it-up-to-something-else/#comment-3129 :) Citi might be. But any design change that makes their website more usable and appealing inevitably came from an outside agency. I'd bet $5 that this change was thought up by an information architect at whatever third-party web firm Citi uses, and that he or she genuinely wants the info being presented to be more useful and understandable. (In case it's not totally obvious, that's pretty much what I do for a living--but I don't do work for Citi.) :) Citi might be. But any design change that makes their website more usable and appealing inevitably came from an outside agency.

I’d bet $5 that this change was thought up by an information architect at whatever third-party web firm Citi uses, and that he or she genuinely wants the info being presented to be more useful and understandable.

(In case it’s not totally obvious, that’s pretty much what I do for a living–but I don’t do work for Citi.)

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