Bankers, let’s get real: here’s the question you need to answer (truthfully) today
Let me ask you a question: How do you think your customers view your bank? As a group of individual channels? Or as a single brand, made up of touchpoints and experiences?
Markus Doeinghaus, Diebold Nixdorf
Here’s the truth: Your customers don’t care about the channel. They’re viewing your financial institution in the aggregate – through their entire, end-to-end experiences with your brand. One bad experience in one individual channel will color their whole perspective, and one really amazing customer experience will linger with them long after it takes place.
Your touchpoints are key: every one, every time, everywhere, must help foster your consumers’ relationships with your organisation. You can offer them cutting-edge mobile experiences, but if the link to the physical bank services is missing or full of friction, the ecosystem is broken. Likewise, if they can conduct their transactions seamlessly through self-service, but when they come into your branch they don’t feel like they’re getting a personalised, knowledgeable interaction with your staff, all the work you did to enhance your self-service network has been a waste.
Customers pick their interaction point of choice. They will start where it’s most convenient to them, and expect to continue the same request on any other channel. For example, when someone starts the journey of buying a home, first they might search online for mortgages and compare them (so they are already potentially engaging with your bank’s website). Now when they enter the branch for final advice, they expect you to know already what they are interested in. That customer data should be carried across channels and made available to the bank employee, so they are prepared to offer solid, expert advice. During that interaction, your staff can offer other products related to the mortgage, like insurance and other home services. Each touchpoint is important, but for consumers, the E2E journey is key.
We explored the need to transition from a transactional perspective to a customer-journey-based strategy in our new whitepaper, “The Critical Change You Need to Make to Your Customer Engagement Strategy.” The paper is full of insights that came directly from bankers around the globe, including real-world examples of banks that are embracing the customer-journey model of banking transformation:
- BPI is using AI technology to implement one personalised communication feed seamlessly over all channels.
- Tatra Bank has built a fully digital, automated onboarding solution.
- Emirates NBD developed the “EasyHub,” digital kiosks with video teller capabilities.
- BBVA completely overhauled their approach to digital, turning their online channels into sales enablers and driving over 50% of new sales through digital.
These banks have faced a critical new reality: It’s not about the channel anymore. It’s about how your brand makes them feel.
Will your current strategic roadmap get you where you want to be in five years?
By Markus Doeinghaus, Diebold Nixdorf.
Doeinghaus is a global Software Engagement Manager for Business Development and Channel Integration. During his nearly 20-year career in software and professional services he has gained expert knowledge in branch transformation projects, solutions architecture and channel integration initiatives. Prior to his sales engagement role in Utrecht, Netherlands software headquarters, he was part of the Professional Services organisation responsible for ATM application certification, pre-sales and training.
Markus thanks for the piece. You are right, one piece of the value proposition or the channel, as you put it, poorly executed without a good experience, and it is the whole brand that gets hurt. I post my comment, as very recently i had a bad experience with one of the Spanish digitally obsessed bank you mention, they just did not make a call, post a txt message or even email me to tell me that a simple document was missing in my KYC, a document that would avoid having my bank account blocked. Bank account being abroad i do not spend my lifetime checking it. Account blocked. Defaulted on my monthly payment installment. Frustration. Morality: drive for more tech, yes, more digital, absolutely….but please please all marketers an geniuses do not leave behind the fundamentals of the client experience and study the behavior of your customers! All this technology and not a good old 80’s phone call to prevent the account going frozen…terrible F. Shame i do like that bank, bit less now.