OK, I'll admit that not everyone needs to know the cost basis of a mutual fund. But I'm guessing that April 15 looms just as large in the minds of the people who run the Merrill Lynch site as it does for you and me. And yet, nothing. I'll bet dollars to donuts that interviewing even five users would have unearthed a common need for some tax information, as would analyzing recent search logs to learn what users are actually searching for these days. Ultimately, the managers of any major site should know what users are asking for and design their main pages to fulfill those needs.
Users find information three ways.
And finally, they ask. Allowing users to ask can mean doing something elaborate, such as popping up a combined audio and video connection to a live support-center operator who can answer questions. Or it can mean doing something simple, like having a phone number or e-mail address for users to contact. But in any case, it's imperative to give users the option, especially as a last-ditch alternative when searching and browsing doesn't satisfy their needs. Labels really do matter.