E*Trade Canada has launched a customer acquisition and education programme in conjunction with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions provider Simvest Solutions.
The programme supports a simulated investing environment designed to advance E*Trade Canada's customers and prospects' understanding of financial markets and the E*Trade Canada investing service. During the simulation, E*Trade Canada's international affiliates may evaluate the programme for possible future implementation as an educational, brand building component of its Web site.
The simulation was launched for registration on April 23, 2001 and mirrors a real brokerage environment, allowing current and potential investors to experience investing online through market and limit trade orders and buying stocks on margin, all without risk. The realistic nature of the simulation technology, processes and customer support helps provide an experience that investors can learn from for real investing.
Colleen Moorehead, president of E*Trade Canada, says: "Solutions like Simvest's learn-by-doing approach provide us with a reliable, branded testing ground for investors to get comfortable with investing mechanics and strategies before investing online for real."
In a recent survey conducted by Simvest, eight out of ten people who have participated in the simulation programme and who were not yet investing online indicated they were more knowledgeable about online investing and better understood investing risks after investing in a simulated environment.
New prospects that are participating in financial content simulations operated by the Simvest Canadian Network include Sympatico-Lycos, Investor Canada and AOL Canada.