First Direct working in The Lab late every day and night

First Direct has rolled out The Lab a social media platform seeking public critique and commentary on a range of the bank’s latest innovations, ideas and developments.

Visitors to the site are invited to provide feedback on everything from product designs and service solutions to marketing tactics and even website concepts.

First Direct, a UK subsidiary of HSBC, says it is hoping to engage with both customers and the general public to co-create the bank’s products and services.

The Lab features a live testing area that allows users to review and comment on the latest innovations while another section (currently empty) will display ideas that have previously been open for review, along with any updates.

At launch, First Direct asked for user input on these four subjects:

• Website Redesign Concepts (270 ratings, 182 comments) – What do people think of the choices?
• QR Codes (556 ratings, 441 comments) – Would customers find them useful and relevant?
• Mortgage App (208 ratings, 64 comments) – What do iPhone and Android users think of this new mortgage comparison tool?
• The Lab Itself (311 ratings, 163 comments) – What do people think about the general idea of First Direct’s online feedback channel?

Visitors to the site are allowed to rate each idea on a five-star scale. So far, every idea has scored an average of three stars except for The Lab, which most people are enthusiastic about, earning it an average four-star rating.

A total of 4,158 comments have been left on the site in its first month, along with 1,345 ratings.