It’s no secret that customer centricity wins in banking. Financial institutions that begin with a customer need, then subsequently build a framework to support that need, have excelled in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
In 2022, your financial institution should focus on the basic foundations of customer experience in the form of serving as a useful and willing partner in their financial lives, and creating a smooth omnichannel experience to enrich their financial lives.
Consider the following ideas when thinking about how you can best serve your customer base this year.
Low/No Fees
As a simple and straightforward gesture to a strong partnership with your customers, your organization should work to reduce fees associated with your accounts. Overdraft, credit card and other fees send a negative message to your customer base, and put you at a competitive disadvantage with a shifting landscape.
Other financial institutions are working with eliminate any friction associated with their organizations, and those who fail to make this transition may leave customers with a bad taste.
Better Transactions
In 2022, customers will look for faster forms of payment, options with how they pay, including no-qualification financing and will have higher expectations around their modes of payment, such as credit/debit cards with an on/off switch and other pre-paid cards.
The desire for greater flexibility of how people spend and finance their purchases is a major opportunity for financial institutions to differentiate themselves and meet a growing market.
Online Accessibility
Customers want to conduct an increasing amount of activity online including opening accounts, budgeting in combination with other tools, and conducting more activity from their mobile devices. Accordingly, your financial institution needs to think of its “face,” (ie, your brand and customer experience) from a mobile-first perspective, laying the foundation with a seamless online platform with an easy and intuitive design.
A True Omnichannel Experience for Smaller Banks
Above all else, mobile will win in 2022, and your organization needs to have the technology to truly establish your brand through your mobile platform.
Notably, this includes an omnichannel framework and underlying technology to support the customer experience, where activities that happen, regardless of platform (in-person, mobile app, etc.) are documented and recorded in a single place to ensure a consistent experience across channels.
In order to create a comprehensive omnichannel experience, many banks and credit unions may need to completely rethink their underlying technology and the framework for their digital experience. This includes creating an API framework that makes customer data organized in a way that is standardized and accessible, allowing FinTech partnerships to easily slot in and support your organization.
In doing so, your organization is able to open itself up to innovation from third party partnerships, effectively “outsourcing” technological growth initiatives to a FinTech organization, who can benefit from the trust and established relationship you have with your existing customer base.
