Retail Banks: Staying Digital-First in an Age of Disruption

The pandemic changed the pace at which many organizations needed to adapt, especially in the digital space. An overwhelming majority of banks are embracing adaptation, but their execution is rather slow. According to The Financial Brand, “Most financial institutions may not be ready for the massive speed of change in customer experiences and digital transformation that their own executives predict.”  

So, how can banks be prepared for the future? Here are five key strategies that financial leaders can embrace to build a successful digital-first approach:

1. Customer experience (CX) is everything. 

A customer’s experience goes way beyond their name on a checking account. Banks need to understand their customers and understand what they are looking for.  

CX is a differentiator in the banking industry and it is understandable why. In today’s market nice-to-haves are need-to-haves. With mobile devices and nomadic lifestyles, customers can fully access bank resources anywhere, with the touch of a finger. When considering CX, banks must think of all the touchpoints—online banking, emails, face-to-face interactions, social media, branches, call centers, and other products. You can begin by surveying your existing customer satisfaction via a survey or other feedback mechanism. Your customer should be at the center of everything. 

Financial institutions need to ask themselves the million dollar question: What and who is this bank for? Banks need to think like consumers and consider all of the platforms that users touch. Consumers want a seamless experience across branches, call centers, digital channels, etc.

2. Advising services: Match advisors to banking customers.

The other day, while clicking around the Forbes site, a pop-up box asked, “What’s your financial IQ?” It got my attention and pushed me to sign up for a newsletter to join a network of over 30K investors and learn about building wealth.

Financial literacy is a topic that does not always receive enough attention, but it’s a huge space for opportunity. Most customers are looking to grow their money, make wise investments, and create a plan that matches their risk tolerance. With the right tooling of a customer data profile (CDP) and customer relationship management (CRM), detailed customer profiles can be built and create a 360 degree review of every customer’s unique situation.

3.  Adopt a data-driven approach.

Financial leaders can leverage analytics to drive their organization’s strategic choices.  This should be done continuously to review and adjust offerings. Agility is also key and a data-driven methodology should be incorporated into all branch and contact center networks. After all, what organization wants to lag behind their competitors?

4. See this as an opportunity and embrace advantages!

There are several categories that leaders can embrace and be excited about, including:

• Cloud technologies
• Decentralized decision-making
• Working in an agile fashion—rapid deployment of talent or teams
• Automated processes 

This is an opportunity to build competitive advantage.

5. Have a roadmap and invest in innovation. 

Without a destination in mind, how would anyone know where to go? Creating a roadmap on how you will begin your journey is important as you embark on your strategy to thrive in this age of digital disruption. Observe the changing landscape of banking and FIs. Innovation will help your market share and your future. Some ways that banks are already embracing innovation: biometrics, voice payments, and context aware notifications.

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