Banking the way we see it. A Tale of Two Banks. Focused Customer Experience Management Provides Crucial Competitive Advantage

Transcription

1 A Tale of Two Banks Focused Customer Experience Management Provides Crucial Competitive Advantage

2 Table of Contents 1 Overview Loss of Faith Customer Retention Efficiency Ratio Technology Deployment Wanted: A Uniform Customer Experience Roadmap for Creating a Unified Customer Experience Step 1: Surface and Understand Needs Step 2: Identify Interactions Step 3: Offer Additional Value Step 4: Analyze Channels and Touch Points Step 5: Integrate Channels to Support a Seamless, Unified Experience The Unified Experience Advantage On Top of It: Unified Customer Experience Management in Action Conclusions...12

3 1 Overview Retaining existing customers is the biggest issue facing the banking industry today. A more complex and competitive landscape for financial service providers is forcing many organizations to reevaluate their existing channel strategies and customer touch points. Banks need to offer their customers a value proposition that goes above and beyond providing basic core services if they want to retain and grow their customers. They must ensure that every customer interaction with the bank, regardless of whether it s online or in person, offers a seamless, unified experience that reinforces and strengthens the customer s brand loyalty. The customer is king and a bank s customer experience management strategy holds the key to that kingdom. A Tale of Two Banks 1

4 Scenario 1 Alex has been a customer of Local Bank for 10 years. He values the personal attention and the way he s treated when he visits his local branch. That all changes, however, when he tries Local Bank s online banking and is frustrated by the experience. He has difficulty conducting transactions as quickly and easily as he can in person and he finds the online menus and options confusing. When he calls Local Bank s toll-free number for assistance, he is put on hold. Alex doesn t feel the same sense of security and confidence online as he does at his local branch. 2 Loss of Faith In Scenario 1, Local Bank s customer experience management strategy was put to the test and failed. Flaws in that strategy, which is crippling the bank s competitive position, are revealed in three critical benchmark areas: Customer retention Efficiency ratio Technology deployment He visits his local branch to discuss his experience. The branch manager is sympathetic and says that the bank is aware of the problem but he cannot offer any immediate solution. This can t be the Local Bank I know, John says to himself. He closes his account and walks away from a 10-year relationship. A Tale of Two Banks 2

5 3 Customer Retention In this scenario, all the investments Local Bank made in acquiring customers and maintaining multiple channels for their benefit didn t pay off. For Alex, Local Bank s multiple touch points became pain points. Contacting the bank online and by phone didn t provide the same experience he had when visiting a branch. Each channel a customer uses to interact with a bank involves investment costs as well as on-going maintenance costs. A Tale of Two Banks 3

6 4 Efficiency Ratio A bank hopes to recover investment and maintenance costs for different channels by retaining current customers and acquiring new customers. As a customer s relationship with the bank deepens and grows over time, that customer yields ever-higher returns for the bank. The business value Local Bank realizes from a loyal customer like Alex increases by multiples over a period of time. Losing such a customer negatively affects the ROI of Local Bank s past investments as well as its future revenue. Inefficient interactions with Local Bank eroded Alex s brand loyalty and caused the bank to lose the opportunity to form a lifetime relationship. In addition, Local Bank must now reinvest funds and redeploy resources to make up for the loss of Alex and the acquisition of a new customer to replace him. The Efficiency Ratio is driven by the ratio between non-interest income and non-interest expenses. Customer attrition directly affects a bank s efficiency ratio as it raises customer acquisition and retention costs. The benchmark for an acceptable efficiency ratio is.50; world-class operations post ratios in the low.40s. Banks are trying to increase their non-interest income and decrease their non-interest expenses by increasing online usage or increasing customer use of self-service applications. This reduces the time branch employees spend dealing with customers. By saving on the branch interaction time, a bank can cut down on its non-interest-based services expenses. This gives the bank the opportunity to re-allocate their existing resources and provide more value-added services to its customers without incurring additional costs. A Tale of Two Banks 4

7 5 Technology Deployment Many banks have invested in providing multiple touch points for the ease and convenience of their customers. In spite of these technology investments, sometimes the customer is not able to derive the real value of these multiple services. While many banks use automation and advanced technology, these investments don t always provide a satisfactory customer experience or lower costs. In our example, Local Bank has been following the wrong roadmap. A Tale of Two Banks 5

8 6 Wanted: A Uniform Customer Experience To transform its relationship with customers, a bank must manage the customer s experience more efficiently through a focused Customer Experience Management Strategy. During the course of customer s life cycle with the bank, the customer should enjoy a unified, seamless experience when interacting with any of the bank s multiple online and offline channels. Every transaction and customer-facing aspect of the bank should present the customer with the same look and feel to enhance usability, credibility and trust. If Local Bank had followed a different customer experience management roadmap, Alex would still be a customer. A Tale of Two Banks 6

9 7 Roadmap for Creating a Unified Customer Experience 7.1 Step 1: Surface and Understand Needs When establishing a banking relationship, customers bring different agendas and different hierarchies of tasks and goals. Some demand a highpersonal-touch relationship that offers the entire range of banking products and services and requires frequent human interaction. Others are looking for a low-personal-touch menu of products and services from which they can choose the right item, accessed electronically at a time and place that is most convenient. The key to crafting an effective customer experience strategy is to understand what banking transactions a bank s customers would like to perform and what channels they would prefer to use. 7.2 Step 2: Identify Interactions For some customers, the hallmark of a positive customer experience is a short wait in a short line at their local branch to conduct a transaction in person. Other customers are looking for quick, frictionless interactions that don t involve a physical visit to the branch or talking with a call center operator. Once a bank knows what interactions are most important to customers, the bank is able to offer its customers appropriate features and services. As shown in Exhibit 1, a unified customer experience management strategy can help a bank gain a competitive edge. Effective multi-channel management leads to a good customer experience, which translates into increased efficiency and decreased expenses allowing the bank to redeploy assets and resources. 7.3 Step 3: Offer Additional Value A person s interactions with a bank are very task-specific. Most customers visit their local branch, contact a call center or log on to their bank s website with the goal of conducting predetermined transactions or answering specific questions. How easily those goals are achieved is the primary driver of customer satisfaction, but it isn t the only one. A Tale of Two Banks 7

10 Banks that take each customer interaction as an opportunity to offer their customers additional high value or convenience services related to that transaction are able to increase their brand equity with the customer and further differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace. 7.4 Step 4: Analyze Channels and Touch Points For many customers, visiting a bank s online site is a more efficient way to check an account balance than visiting their local branch. Customers who just want to know the location of the nearest ATM may find that a quick call to a call center provides the information they need. Other customers who want to conduct more complex transactions may prefer an in-person visit to their local branch to talk with their financial advisor. When a bank examines the interaction patterns of its customers, it may see that customers are not selecting the most efficient channels for their transactions or it may find deficiencies in the way each channel interacts with customers. Wringing inefficiencies from each channel and increasing customer awareness of channel options and alternatives will help a bank maximize the efficient use of each channel and contribute to an optimal customer experience. Exhibit 1: Unified Customer Experience Management Strategy Call Center Interaction Online Banking 3rd Party Transactions Reallocate and adjust expenses to become competitive Branch Interaction A Tale of Two Banks 8

11 7.5 Step 5: Integrate Channels to Support a Seamless, Unified Experience When customers interact with their bank they want to have a seamless, unified experience, regardless of channel. At each touch point, they want feel that they are in familiar territory. Whether they re banking in person, online or though a call center, they want their bank to speak with one voice across all channels. They want a familiar choice of functionality and menu options, uniform wording and terminology. They want their bank to look the same online as it does in person. To ensure that customers have a positive, seamless experience, banks need to integrate their multiple channels to provide a unified experience. They need to make sure that each customer touch point offers integrated functionality, features and a common look and feel. A Tale of Two Banks 9

12 8 The Unified Experience Advantage A unified customer experience management strategy offers a bank s customers an enhanced value proposition and can be a significant competitive advantage in a highly competitive marketplace. A unified customer experience delivers: Enhanced Customer Retention: Delivering the brand promises consistently and effectively through multiple channels creates and reinforces brand loyalty. Optimized Efficiency Ratio: By lowering customer acquisition costs and the costs of delivering services, the bank can re-allocate its assets and resources to focus on cross selling and up-selling its products and services. Increased Brand Loyalty: Creating an effective customer experience builds brand loyalty that paves the way for the customer to establish a long-term relationship with the bank. Maximized Multiple Touch Points: Managing the customer experience through all the multiple touch points for consistency maximizes the bank s return on investment for these channels by providing higher returns with lower costs. A Tale of Two Banks 10

13 Scenario 2 After closing his account with Top Bank, Alex visits a branch office of Top Bank, one of Local Bank s competitors. In a matter of minutes, Alex fills out the necessary forms and opens an account. When he accesses his account online, Alex is delighted to find that the Top Bank website has a familiar look and feel and customer-friendly menus and options. When Alex decides he would like help in filling out a check order request, he uses the bank s toll-free helpline and is quickly connected with a friendly and knowledgeable customer service agent who helps him submit his check order. When Alex stops at his local Top Bank branch to activate his new ATM card and fill out the forms for direct deposit of his paycheck, his new financial adviser offers to explain the advantages of online bill pay and walks Alex through an online demo the bank has prepared. Alex immediately recognizes the flexibility and convenience of this service and adds it to his account. This is terrific, Alex thinks. Top Bank sure has its act together. 9 On Top of It: Unified Customer Experience Management in Action When a bank has a comprehensive customer experience management strategy, they can follow a unified customer experience roadmap that enhances customer retention, optimizes the bank s efficiency ratio, strengthens brand loyalty and maximizes the ROI of multiple channels. Scenario 2 provides a look at Alex s experience with Top Bank. Top Bank offered Alex a value proposition that goes above and beyond providing basic core services. By implementing a comprehensive customer experience management strategy, the bank helps Alex enjoy a seamless, unified experience every time he interacts with the bank, regardless of the channel. A bank s unified customer experience can strengthen customer loyalty and create the foundation for developing a long-term relationship with a customer that will deepen and grow more profitable over time. Top Bank found the key to the customer kingdom. A Tale of Two Banks 11

14 10 Conclusions The gloves are off in the banking industry today as banks use every tool and strategy at their disposal in the fight for customers. The acquisition and retention of customers is a paramount concern throughout the industry. Many banks are increasing their investments in new branches in the quest for new customers. This growth strategy, however, doesn t come without a cost. Major investments in non-earning assets will increase pressure on a bank s efficiency ratio. This could translate into backroom cost-reduction programs that could affect a bank s ability to retain these new customers. At the same time, some banks are focusing on organic growth initiatives and the retention of existing customers. Retaining and cross-selling existing customers offers the best path to increased earnings. But this strategy doesn t allow a bank to capitalize on new geographic growth opportunities afforded by changing population patterns and demographic shifts. We believe a balanced approach that leverages alternative channels with selected branch expansion offers a better approach. By developing effective alternative channels that seamlessly integrate with the branch experience, banks can increase their overall share of a customer s wallet and make it unnecessary for customers to move. By selectively expanding its branch network, a bank can enhance its ability to take advantage of shifting population and demographic trends and strengthen its ability to attract new customers. A balanced approach gives a bank the best of all worlds. A Tale of Two Banks 12

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