Visual outlook

Term visual outlook refers to the “ looks” of the electronic servicescape, as well as “appear-ance” that was the original usability-related attribute. However, the use of visual elements (e.g. colors and pictures) in the electronic insurance service environment was particularly extensively discussed in all four focus groups. As visualization is one of the focal themes emphasized in the scope of this study, term “visual” was preferred also from a conceptual point of view to characterize perhaps the most relevant dimension of the electronic ser-vicescape.

To support the conceptual selection, Table 6 summarizes the positive expressions by the interviewees indicating the use of colors and pictures from visualization point of view.

Personal Assistance

Navigation

Interactive Features

Interactivity/

Assistance

Transactions

Content

Information

Appearance

Visual Outlook

Pleasure

FIGURE 25. DISCOVERING CONCEPTUAL DIMENSIONS OF ELECTRONIC INSURANCE SERVICESCAPE

Naturally, opposite opinions also occurred as is established later in this sub-chapter. TheThe numbers indicating the amount of the expressions in Table 6 are accomplished by review-ing all the four interviews in order to search for all the excerpts of individual interview-ees in which either the use of colors or pictures is discussed in a positive sense from the perspective of visualization. However, if either of the terms appeared several times in theHowever, if either of the terms appeared several times in the same excerpt, it was only counted once.

TABLE 6. EMPIRICAL SUPPORT TO CONCEPTUALIZATION: “VISUAL OUTLOOK” Topics Amount of occurrence Illustrative citation

Pictures 29 P17: ”… those small pictures too, even if they didn’t have anything to do with the issue, small pictures somehow make the matter clearer, like for example that there are three points here and there are big headings, which make it clear what is [underneath them]”

P6: ”… yes, the right one entices more to read it and to get into it because it’s visually more appealing. Colors and so forth.”

Colors 21 P7: ”I think in this kind of thing where you progress from one phase to the next, colors bring clarity about which phase you are in and how many phases might be left, if you intend to finish it.”

P6: ”… yes, the right one entices more to read it and to get into it because it’s visually more appealing. Colors and so forth.”

Visual outlook characterizes the visual elements that are illustrating the content of the elec-tronic servicescape. As one respondent pointed out, the visual outlook of the elecelec-tronic servicescape should be perceived as appealing by the customer:

P5: Yes and this visual look. Kind of clear, nice to look at, not any terrible color, no neon green.

On the basis of the empirical data the “visual outlook” of the electronic servicescape is characterized by two sub-dimensions, which comprise: illustrative attributes, and context.

The illustrative attributes are constituted by (used) colors, pictures, charts, and animations, which can be perceived on the Web sites. The conceptual nature of visual outlook is de-The conceptual nature of visual outlook is de-picted in Figure 26.

The empirical results suggest that illustrative attributes, especially colors and pictures, are considered the most crucial elements of the “visual outlook” by the interviewees. At least illustrative attributes were connected to all the five dimensions of the electronic

ser-vicescape in discussions of the interviewees. This statement is discussed more thoroughly in chapter 7.4 when introducing a structure of the electronic insurance servicescape. Con-cerning the colors used on the Web sites, the empirical results indicate that they facilitate the customers in finding the essential information and/or service(s) on the Web sites:

P5: But those [interleaves] on the Tapiola site, aren’t they sort of grey… they don’t stand out, you don’t notice they’re there.

Pictures on the Web sites were perceived as another crucial illustrative attribute charac-terizing visual outlook of the electronic insurance servicescape. From the perspective of structuring the content one participant stated that using pictures instructs customers to find the desired information or other functions in the electronic service environment:

P4: The picture also guides you to the right place immediately… the front page, when it opens up, you don’t even have to read the texts to find the right spot.

Charts were also perceived as a useful visual “tool” for structuring the content in the elec-tronic service environment through visual aids. As the citation below indicates charts fa-cilitate customers in finding the desired information on the Web:

P17: Those charts are also a fast and easy way to find the information you’re looking for. If the information is in a form of a chart, it’s always clear.

In addition to other illustrative attributes, animations were perceived as helpful in clari-fying the information and the content of the electronic service environment in general for the customers. However, participants’ attitudes towards animations in the electronic service environment were somewhat two-fold. On one hand, animations were perceived

FIGURE 26. CONCEPTUAL NATURE OF “VISUAL OUTLOOK” VISUAL

OUTLOOK

Charts Animations Pictures Colors

CONTEXT ILLUSTRATIVE

ATTRIBUTES

as childish and inappropriate to be utilized in insurance service context as the following examples of discussions by the interviewees indicate:

P7: … Because [there] they’ve used, sort of, well, used such animated characters, which refer more to a children’s world perhaps considering the imagery, more than to insur-ance services.

P3: These could also easily be replaced by some [other images], so you wouldn’t need to… such animated characters…

On the other hand, however, the animations were perceived as useful and appealing. This insight emerged especially when discussing the “insurance cover evaluator” service con-cept in focus group interviews. In this context the interviewees actually expressed that animations well cohere with insurance since the main purpose of the animations is not to provide the customers with additional entertainment but rather more appealing sur-roundings and a setting to operate with electronic insurance services:

P10: And maybe so that the visual look [”insurance cover evaluator”] was sort of sim-plified, so it was meant to give information and not [just] to entertain.

One common element for all the sub dimensions of the visual outlook is that by exploiting them, the aim is to make the electronic servicescape easier and more appealing for the cus-tomers to use. However, empirical results reveal that even though visual attributes might have above mentioned effects on how the customers perceive the electronic servicescape, they should fit into the context in which they are utilized:

P3: at least in my opinion humor and insurance and what not, these colors and all the rest here, they don’t go hand in hand. This is a rather sensitive, or not sensitive, but kind of a serious issue [insurance] to be presenting something like that…

P5: … it’s not a bad thing to make the web sites a bit more entertaining or more pleasant, but there’s a limit to everything… for example if this only had those icons, those small links, maybe that wouldn’t be bad at all. But when those [animated] dogs appear…

As it can be interpreted from the citations above customers are sensitive to using too enter-taining and “non-insurance-like” visualization in the electronic insurance service context.

One reason for that is the fact that insurance is perceived as a serious and matter-of-fact service by the customers as the last citation below illustrates:

P10: I agree what was just said, since this insuring is an serious issue, so if those pictures were, how should I put it, a tad more boring or matter-of-fact, it would make a differ-ence right away, then it would be quite [good].

Referring to what is discussed above, it can be concluded that the visual outlook is a very crucial dimension of the electronic insurance servicescape. However, as insurance is char-acterized as a complex, serious, and matter-of-fact service, a special attention has to be paid to discovering the appropriate logic in utilizing the visual features in the context of electronic insurance services. Moreover, in insurance service context the customers might be even more sensitive to the inappropriate characteristics of the servicescape than in oth-er areas of soth-ervices since insurance as a soth-ervice, and soth-ervice product, should create trust among the customers. Therefore, the line between appropriateness and inappropriateness is very thin.