By Hunter Moses, Vice President of Implementations – Q2
“Sometimes you have to leave today’s good for something great,” an account holder recently summarized about the interactions with her long-time, hometown bank. This got me thinking—from a consumer’s perspective, all the work we do can often be summed up in a single word. So, what differentiates a good banking solution from a great one? And when and how is that determination made?
This account holder’s perspective was that, while her good bank adequately delivered on the features they offered and had provided an acceptable level of service, she had no expectation for innovation—even if she never realized she wanted any. Overall, she had no complaints as she didn’t know what she didn’t know and the institution had provided a sufficiently good experience with classic banking products and delivery.
In contrast, her new, ‘great’ bank was simply more innovative than she expected. She was attracted by the bank’s technology reputation and ability to open an account online, and once she was enrolled there was no slowing down. She learned she could utilize the bank’s technology to transact everything important to her, including mortgage and lending via apps and e-signatures. Though not groundbreaking in the financial services industry, this convenience and self-service experience was entirely new for her. The ability to esign loan documents from her phone while in a meeting or deposit a check from her kitchen table was exactly what she needed at this time in her life. When asked what makes her relationship with her new financial institution better than the first, she remarked, “This great bank constantly innovates and releases new features that I not only adopt and use regularly, but—in some cases—have become very dependent upon, especially through my mobile devices.” The great part of the experience is that this innovation happens without her input and her ability to use the feature is nearly automatic. “The feature just appears. It looks and feels organic, and there is no bumpy enrollment or adoption process. I love this bank and their attention to me as a technology user.” Couple that very positive emotional response with great call center service and this institution has created a self-described loyal customer who, without a branch interaction, evangelizes their great banking experience as though it were a hot new mobility app—which, in reality, it has also become.
Let’s briefly consider the italicized emotional response comment above. In the business of banking, it is easy to forget about the significance of emotional connection to a brand or experience. Traditional banking functions such as checking a balance or withdrawing money from an ATM are not emotional experiences. Or are they? If someone is heading out for an evening and cannot find an ATM or must pay a fee through a non-affiliated ATM, there is negative emotion associated with the irritation of not having easy, cheap access to their cash. If banking requires an appointment or lengthy wait at a branch, away from an individual’s life, the experience can be emotionally negative before it even begins. Conversely the examples noted above transformed an individual who was simply an account holder into an excited, vested and emotionally connected cheerleader for the brand. Emotional connection is a very real part of whether your business is characterized as good, great or any of many other single word descriptors. And fortunately today, reinforcing that emotional connection through technology makes that much easier than a generation or two ago where branch location and new account opening gifts were among the tools available to keep customer experience positive.
We’ve touched on ‘good’ versus ‘great’ from a consumer’s perspective, but how does that work from the service side of the counter? Is simply investing in new technology enough? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, a technology investment that is properly marketed and deployed can increase customer happiness with your brand and increase feature adoption in the near term, but the pendulum can swing in the other direction by investing in the wrong technology and/or deployment method. Here are some key questions to ask:
- Does a new feature fit naturally into the digital channel or is it a third- party offering that looks “bolted on?”
- Does the offering’s workflow feel the same through all your electronic channels?
- Does it match the workflow the user would experience in the branch? This is an easy miss as many institutions stop thinking about the downstream affect at feature rollout.
“Future-proofing” requires investing in a strategy that allows new features to feel organic on the digital platform and to the account holders’ interactions with your brand. In a world of rising consumer expectations, spending the time up front to map an experience that feels the same wherever an account holder touches your brand is important. This can oftentimes be as simple as using the digital channels with the account holder in the branch, so workflows don’t just feel the same, but are the same. For example, using a tablet equipped with your electronic offerings to help solve an account holder’s problem in the branch keeps your servicing touch points aligned in both form and function. This continuity through every interaction subtly and repeatedly reaffirms your institution’s commitment to innovation and account holder experience.
Today’s account holders are choosing their financial institutions for their commitment to thoughtful, relavant innovation. So in the year 2014, it’s important to ask yourself: what’s your innovation reputation?