Introduction
Digital innovation has been at the forefront of every industry in the past decade. Businesses have evolved and adapted the latest technologies that help their business grow and also allows them to serve their customers effectively.
The banking sector, in particular, has undergone a massive transformation. At the heart of this change is customer engagement. With time, customer engagement in banking has witnessed a dramatic shift.
Customers are now spoilt for choice. Brand interactions have now moved to digital and social platforms. Because of this, the entire decision-making process of the customers and their expectations have also changed.
In order to stay relevant and offer the customers what they need, the banking sector needs to have a solid customer engagement strategy.
What is Customer Engagement?
The frequent interactions a brand or a business chooses to have with its customers is customer engagement.
Although this definition is the simplest way to understand what is customer engagement, it doesn’t quite paint the whole picture.
Customer engagement is not limited to mere interactions between a brand and it’s customers; the quality of these interactions makes a world of difference. This is what sets the banking business on the growth trajectory.
A good customer engagement strategy allows a business to increase the longevity of the relationship with their customers. And the longevity of this relationship determines how long a business – banking in this case – can remain profitable.
Therefore, it is safe to say that good customer engagement solutions can have a direct positive impact on the balance sheet. And because the banking sector has realized why is customer engagement important, they are constantly looking for ways to improve and increase customer engagement across their banking services.
This article covers five proven ways to win customer engagement in banking. The customer engagement solutions discussed here will help you provide a superior experience with every interaction you have with your customers at multiple touchpoints.
Let’s take a look at what they are.
5 Ways to Increase Customer Engagement in Banking
- Make Customer Service Efficient
Most banks to a fairly good job of providing good customer service when a customer physically visits the bank branch. But, is your bank doing the same at other touchpoints as well? Especially via digital mediums? This is an important aspect to look into. For example, contacting customer service via phone is one of the most tedious experiences of customers today.
The customer is asked to enter their account number at multiple touchpoints. It is a time-consuming, repetitive, and annoying process, especially when the customer is looking for a quick solution. The never-ending automated prompts don’t work for today’s customers.
In addition to this frustrating experience, when a customer finally gets to talk to a customer service representative, they are met with further disappointment as the executives are not entirely capable of solving issues that go beyond a few pre-defined options. Customers don’t get the quick solutions they are looking for. As digital core banking becomes more prominent, addressing this issue promptly and redesigning the entire interaction process is the need of the hour. This is one of the easiest customer engagement activities that can provide immediate results.
- Help with Technology Adoption and Onboarding
It is great that your business is taking the digital way forward. But it is also important that your customers come along with you on this journey. If you redesign your website or make changes to your web portal, loop your customers in right away.
This may not be an issue with the tech-savvy millennial user base but all of your other customers will need a bit of orientation in this area. Provide step-by-step guidance to help them use all the latest technological features you have to offer. You can use third-party customer engagement platforms for assistance in this area. A great example is an explainer video that can walk your customers through the entire process of downloading and setting up the mobile app on their phones.
- Personalize Interactions with Data
The biggest by-product of technology innovation is data. Data is one of the most powerful customer engagement tools in banking. Take the help of data to offer customized services and personalize every single interaction. By monitoring the customer journey on all of your digital platforms, you will be in a position to understand your customer’s behavioral patterns and financial habits.
Data and analytics help you understand who your customers are, where are they coming from and what are their financial aspirations. For example, is your customer using the autopay feature to pay the bills? Or, is your customer managing the credit card properly? This kind of information will allow you to personalize the service and advise you offer.
- Always Reward Loyalty
Rewarding your existing customers for their loyalty is a key component of the customer engagement process. You need to give your customers a reason to continue banking with you and to recommend your services to their friends and family. The most effective way to accomplish this is by having a loyalty program in place. Offering discounts on your key financial services, providing better digital cash management capabilities, reducing credit card fees, and providing referral bonuses are some great examples to show your customers that you value them and the business they bring to your bank.
- Setup Feedback Loops
This is one of the most important steps that is often overlooked. According to research by Bain & Company, 80% of companies believe they are providing great customer service, but only 8% of their customers feel they are receiving great customer service. This massive mismatch needs to be addressed.
The only way to know what a customer needs is by actually asking the customer. There is simply no other way around it. Post-interaction surveys, frequent check-in phone calls, and monitoring social media interactions are some of the ways to receive feedback from your customers.
If you are willing to listen, customers are usually honest and share exactly what they are looking for. This vital information will enhance your customer engagement like no other.
Conclusion
As discussed previously, when you improve customer engagement, you will also increase the overall financial performance of your bank.
Customer engagement has a direct correlation to the financial well-being of any business. We hope these suggestions give you some ideas to design your own customer engagement solutions for your bank in order to ensure a superior customer experience.
