What Banks Can Learn From Apple, Zappos, Disney and Southwest

Today’s world of instant gratification is driving a paradigm shift of customer service for financial institutions, where expectations are formed by firms like Apple, Zappos, Disney and Southwest Airlines.

Consumer expectations are being formed by service experiences outside of the financial services industry, where content, interactions, and features are rich, delivering an engaging and rewarding experience.

We are experiencing a customer service paradigm shift. Unlike any other time in history, today’s informed consumer is in the driver’s seat and holds the power to buy or not buy from a business depending on their experience with a product or service. Consumer expectations are shaped by the customer service they encounter across all industries, and they are accustomed to intuitive and easy to use products, positive human and virtual interactions, and getting what they want when they want it.

Bank Onboarding Should Integrate Digital & Mobile Channels

Best-in-class bank and credit union onboarding goes beyond just a mailing or a phone call. To drive engagement with new customers, offline and online channels must be optimized in a sequence and cadence of touches that reduces attrition and improves profitability.

3 key strategies for transforming negative sentiment into positive customer experience

To compete effectively in the Age of the Customer —a 20-year business cycle in which consumers have unprecedented real-time access to information and social sharing— it’s time for a new playbook. By using effective strategies to identify sources of dissatisfaction early on, and communicating how and when it matters most, your company can turn disgruntled customers into loyal advocates of your brand.

Consider these proven strategies for resolving pain Points:

Omnichannel Banking: More Than a Buzzword

As customers continue to change their channel usage patterns, banks and credit unions must focus on delivering a consistent and seamless experience across various touch points. More than just a buzzword, omnichannel banking is an opportunity to deliver bottom line results by gaining insight into customer’s channel preferences and behavior.

Is There A Chief Renewals Officer In Your Future?

There is only one boss. The customer.  

And he can fire everyone from the Chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. 

(Sam Walton, 1977)

A customer-centric focus is not a new concept in business. Over the years, many companies have talked how ‘the customer the king’ or that ‘the customer is always right’.

Read more at Finextra

Is There A Chief Renewals Officer In Your Future?

The World of Multi-Channel Delivery

“When in doubt, mumble. When in trouble, delegate. When in charge, ponder.” -James Boren Let’s talk about the multi-channel experience we’re all designing. As we get deeper into the world of branch/Internet/mobile delivery, a very clear planning tenet has been the development of a “seamless, consistent, easy cross-channel experience.” Perfectly valid. Nobody who lives in all of these channels will accept anything but easy. We already know that. – See more at: http://www.gonzobanker.com/2014/03/what-would-jeff-and-steve-say/#sthash.HkvsolSI.dpuf

Maybe The Experience Doesn’t Matter (That Much)

EY (is it not called Ernst & Young anymore?) released its 2014 Global Consumer Banking Survey recently. For a better review of it than I’ll provide here, see the summary on The Financial Brand, or download the report directly.

The report goes to some lengths to establish the connection between the level of trust consumers have in their banks and their intentions to refer their banks, as well as to open new accounts.

Creating Strategic Advantage via Client Experience

Can Improving Your Global Client Experience Create a Strategic Advantage in Banking?

Late last year, The Banker hosted a roundtable session at the Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) annual meeting for treasurers and chief financial officers. At the roundtable*, 12 transaction bankers from top-tier banks reflected on the state of the industry and shared their thoughts on the topic of client experience. Their insights provide a valuable perspective, even today. 

Mobile Banking: The Value of the Customer Experience

Why is the quality of the customer experience so important in the battle for mobile consumers?

In banking, the quality of the mobile experience has been proven to go beyond propensity to use – it can ultimately be the deal breaker for the entire customer relationship. Recent research by Alix Partners suggested that for 48% of account switchers, mobile banking services were either ‘Important’ or ‘Extremely important’ in their decision to Switch.

Data Proves Bad Banking Experiences Hurt Customer Acquisition

48% of consumers immediately eliminate at least one institution from their search for a new checking product. Why? Four out of five cite a previous bad experience.

Consumers shopping for new checking accounts at FindABetterBank.com can specify which financial institutions they wouldn’t consider banking with and why. 48% of shoppers choose to eliminate at least one institution before even seeing what that bank or credit union had to offer.

Read more at Financial Brand

Data Proves Bad Banking Experiences Hurt Customer Acquisition