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Technology Leads to Competitive Advantage
August 27, 2010The key message in Brett King's recently released book, BANK 2.0: How customer behavior and technology will change the future of financial services, is this: "The banking system is broken, not because of regulation, but because banks just don't understand or care about their customers anymore." While I'm not sure I entirely agree with this statement, it is certainly food for thought.
Mobile Channel is Becoming Increasingly Essential
August 19, 2010Offering mobile capabilities is more essential than ever, according to Javelin Research's recent blog, Mobile Banking: The Statistic You SHOULD be Citing.
4 Barriers to Social Media Success
August 12, 2010No doubt about it, more financial services firms are jumping on the social media band(width) wagon every day. While some firms start by merely dipping a toe into the social media pool--establishing a simple facebook and/or Twitter presence--others are cannonballing into the water, determined to make a big splash with extensive social media offerings.
Hold on Tight to Customers During M&As
August 5, 2010The recent economic crisis has presented the banking industry with plenty of challenges, but also some great opportunities. Strong, solvent banks are poised to grow their customer base via mergers and acquisitions. But as banks grow through M&As, they're challenged with stemming the tide of customer defections that invariably occur when banks announce the transaction. So what's a bank to do?
Future of Banking: Strength of the Client Relationship
July 30, 2010"The future of banking lies in the strength of the client relationship," says Jeff Ficke, Senior Vice President and Treasury Management Sales Director, Fifth Third Bank in the Bank Systems & Technology article Keeping the Love Alive: How Banks Can Strengthen Client Relationships. Unfortunately, Ficke explains, some banks' attempts at taking a client-centered approach are essentially just good marketing spin.
5 Keys to Optimal Customer Experience
July 21, 2010The ability for banks to deliver a great customer experience has never been more important. Yet, precisely how to deliver that optimal experience to customers across all touch points and channels can still be a bit of a mystery.
How Much Customer Contact is Optimal?
July 9, 2010When your organization has successfully attracted a new customer, you want to keep in contact, but not so often that you're bothering them. So how much contact with new customers should you have?
Lessons From the Customer Experience Leader
July 8, 2010Customers' experiences can make a world of difference in how they view your organization. They can spark glowing recommendations and referrals on the positive side -- or bad buzz and mass defection to your competition on the downside. Clearly, concentrating on making your customers happy is critical, yet some financial services firms are doing a far better job than others. So what lessons can you learn about customer experience from firms that are getting it right?
Listening to Customers Can Bring Multi-Million Dollar Results
July 2, 2010A report from Forrester Research shows that even a slight improvement in customer experience can drive $284 million in incremental annual revenues for a typical $10 billion company. However, while there are significant opportunities, there are also significant challenges.
Learning from Customer Service Blunders
June 23, 2010If you've ever had a bad banking experience -- and face it, we've all had them -- you know how this experience colors your perception of your financial institution. Unfortunately, positive banking experiences don't affect us quite as profoundly. It's a quirk of human nature that negative experiences linger with us longer than positive ones.
Is Your Bank a Customer Experience Leader?
June 17, 2010Do you believe your bank is a customer experience leader? Or do you believe that your organization is striving to be a customer-experience leader? While only a handful of companies believe they're customer experience leaders, many more think their company is headed in that direction.
Social Networking App Usage Triples -- But Mobile Banking Usage Isn't Far Behind
June 10, 2010So just how important is the mobile channel for banks? While we all knew the mobile channel was powerful, new figures show that literally millions more people are using their mobile devices for social networking and banking.
Is Social Networking That Important for Banks?
June 2, 2010Although apparently some 250 financial institutions from around the world have joined Facebook, these firms are achieving varying levels of success in their social media efforts. Sure, they're making friends and may be privy to some of their customers' social activities. But are they achieving any real business results?
1 in 4 U.S. Adults Have Attempted to Open Checking Accounts Online – But Fewer Than Half Have Been Successful
May 26, 2010According to a Javelin Strategy & Research report that came out today, one in four adults in the U.S. has tried to open a checking account online this year. Sounds promising, right? Not so fast. It turns out that fewer than half of applicants were successful in opening and funding the account.
5 Social Media Best Practices
May 21, 2010While most banks today are delving into the world of social media, many approach the prospect of developing and maintaining a presence on Twitter and Facebook as something similar to a visit to the dentist. Banks that prefer to avoid social media can take the advice of firms that were among the first to embrace this still relatively new method of information sharing. Social media is the new word of mouth, and today's banks can't afford to miss out.
4 Ingredients to Long-Term Customer Experience Success
May 14, 2010Customer experience is hard to get right, with so many moving parts and a target that keeps changing. It's even more difficult to gauge the success of a customer experience initiative. But, according to Forrester alum Bruce Temkin, who is a partner in the newly launched customer experience transformation consultancy Temkin Group, there are four ingredients for long-term success in creating lasting differentiation in your customer experience initiative.
Online Applications are Strengths for U.S. Banks
May 6, 2010In its newest report, 2010 US Bank Public Web Site Rankings, Forrester Research looked at the public Web sites of the six largest banks in the United States – Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC Financial Services, US Bank and Wells Fargo. And while the sites were generally good overall, they showed strength in the area of online checking account applications.
Foster and Enhance Customer Relationships with PFM
April 30, 2010Offering personal financial management (PFM) has become much less of a sales tool these days than a means of building a customer relationship. And that's good news for banks that are embracing the online channel and offering PFM sites.
Getting Face Time with Your Target Markets through Facebook
April 21, 2010According to Web metrics firm Experian Hitwise, visits to Facebook have begun to outnumber visits to Google. Facebook became the most visited Web site in the U.S. for the week ending March 13, 2010--and for the week, Facebook and Google together accounted for 14 percent of all U.S. Internet visits. So what does this information have to do with you?
How Customer-Focused is Your Company, Anyway?
April 14, 2010Today, most companies understand that in order to grow profits, they need to have a clear customer strategy, and deliver on promises made to customers. But are they really doing it?
Influencing the Influencers via Social Networking
April 9, 2010Social networking has become a critical means of communication for people who want to keep in touch with one another or let others know of their activities for social or business purposes. But social networking is also creating a new breed of brand advocates for everything from potato chips to restaurants to vacation spots to banks.
What Makes Business Banking Customers Want to Jump Ship?
March 31, 2010In today's extraordinarily competitive market, it's become more important than ever to hold on to existing customers while attracting new ones and to make sure you're giving customers the goods to keep them loyal. Turns out that it takes much more than you might think.
How Can Banks Assess Their Customer Engagement Strategy? ( Part II)
March 24, 2010Last week, I wrote about the importance of tracking banks' customer engagement strategies, and how banks must develop their own metrics and method of assessing their customer engagement strategy. This week, I'm looking at how banks can develop solid customer engagement strategy metrics--and determine if their engagement efforts are paying off.
How Can Banks Assess Their Customer Engagement Strategy?
March 17, 2010By now, we all have a handle on the concept of customer engagement. If a bank successfully engages its customers, its customers will likely remain loyal, and the bank's cross-sell and up-sell efforts will be more fruitful. However, other factors figure into a customer's decision to stay with his or her financial institution or to purchase additional or upgraded products and services. And those are difficult to track.
If You're Not Connecting With Customers on Facebook and Twitter, You're Missing Out
March 11, 2010It may be true that teenagers and young adults are using Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with their friends, but these aren't just your kids' social media any longer. Yet a new report, Social Media in Financial Services 2010, from UK-based Datamonitor reveals that financial services firms haven’t yet realized the opportunities that connecting with consumers via social media can provide.
Is Your Bank Satisfying Its Customers? Most Aren't, Apparently
March 3, 2010Customer satisfaction with some of the biggest banks has declined to the lowest Q4 levels in many years, according to a recent study by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. A disheartening showing, to be sure.
Banks Can Boost Revenues by 10 Percent by Focusing on One Key Group
February 24, 2010A single demographic group has the potential to help banks spark revenue jumps of as much as 10 percent, and it’s not the one you might expect. It's the Generation Y customers, those who were born just before, during, or shortly after the Reagan years.
Do Customers Recommend Your Company?
February 17, 2010Word-of-mouth recommendations are the best advertisements for any firm. Loyal and happy customers are not only the lifeblood of your organization – they are also your best salespeople. Are your customers satisfied with your institution to the point that they'll tell all their friends about it?
Banks Push Toward Going Paperless in 2010
February 12, 2010Sunday marked the start of the Chinese Year of the Tiger. For banking, 2010 also seems to be the Year to go Paperless.
Credit Unions’ Online Channel Budgets Growing By 15% -- Or More
February 3, 2010With the financial crisis beginning to disappear in the rear-view mirror, financial services firms are slowly beginning to grow less nervous about their survival and are beginning to focus on strategic priorities. For credit unions, the online channel has become a priority as budgets for this channel are projected to increase, according to a recent report from Aite Group.
30-Somethings are Most Tech Savvy, Survey Finds
January 27, 2010When it comes to the online channel, one tends to think that the younger an individual is, the more technologically proficient and comfortable with online tools he or she will be. But it turns out that the group most engaged with the online channel is actually made up of those in their 30s.
Financial Services Trends in 2010: It's The Year of the Customer
January 21, 2010During the first several weeks of a new year, "What's Hot" lists of all kind bombard us with predictions of what’s going to be hot in all areas from music and fashion to residential neighborhoods. What's top-of-mind for 2010 in the world of financial services? The customer, according to three new reports.
2010: 2 Banking Trends to Watch
January 14, 2010As part of its 2010 Industry Outlook, Bank Systems & Technology magazine editors predicted the major banking trends for the coming year (read 10 in 2010: Banking Trends for the New Year). Among them are trends that point to improving customer experience, use of personal financial management tools, and mobile app development.
2010 IT Spending Should Include Measures to Improve Customer Experience
January 7, 2010After a relatively flat year in terms of IT budgets, banks are facing a new year of continued constraints and conservative, but flexible, spending. Budgets for the coming year may still be relatively flat, but thankfully, not flat-lined.
Bernanke Pulls in Time Magazine Award--Does He Deserve It?
December 16, 2009As 2009 draws to a close we're beginning to see the ubiquitous year-end wrap-ups in various and electronic media. The predictable lists and honors (People's "Sexiest Man Alive," "The Year in Sports," and other lists are monopolized by the usual world figures – primarily politicians and celebrities from the sports and entertainment world – and I barely give them a second glance. This year I found it significant – and a little heart-warming – that Time Magazine named Ben Bernanke its Person of the Year 2009.
Is Your Institution at Risk for 'Business Killers"?
December 10, 2009Today's volatile economic climate has made business success – and even viability – a challenge for financial services firms of all sizes and across all regions of the country. In the past year or so, banks have had to do a balancing act between holding down costs, keeping a handle on risk, meeting regulatory requirements, all the while developing a competitive edge that will prevent them from becoming the next bank-closure casualty or the next lead story on the news. The economic crisis may be essentially over, according to experts. But this is no time for banks to let down their guard.
Making the Business Case to Increase Digital Services
December 4, 2009On the face of it, it sounds like a no-brainer: Increase investment in digital services delivery, putting money into efforts to increase the use and enhance the usability of self-service channels. But it's not as easy as it sounds to get business buy-in for IT projects. So, how can savvy IT leaders make the case to increase their digital services in this tough economy?
Banks Might as Well Embrace Social Media
November 25, 2009If you ask me, social media has revolutionized interpersonal communication and networking. Facebook has become a guilty pleasure, sort of like a virtual water cooler for those of us who telecommute or want to catch up with friends and colleagues from the comfort of our own office chairs. But its impact on business has been even more profound and far-reaching.
Bernanke: Looks Like Things are Looking Up
November 18, 2009Earlier this week, in an address to the Economic Club of New York, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke presented his outlook for the economy and policy for the coming year. Bernanke reflected back to the state of the economy at this time in 2008, and said that "Today, financial conditions are considerably better than they were then, but significant economic challenges remain." He cited continued constraint of the flow of credit, weak economic activity and soaring unemployment rates.
Customers Have More Trust in Banks than You'd Think
November 12, 2009These are tough times for those who work in financial services, and with new issues cropping up periodically, it doesn't seem to be getting easier. Witness the discussions surrounding the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), public outrage about sky-high executive compensation, and the 120 banks that have failed so far this year. But the news isn't all bad.
Going Paperless for Financial Services
November 4, 2009Every day, it seems that we’re moving closer to a paperless existence, but nowhere is this more apparent than in the communications between financial services firms and their customers. Checks are disappearing and becoming more a bother than a convenience – witness the grimaces and heavy sighs of supermarket patrons who stand behind a customer who must write a check to pay for his groceries. Today, we do more of our business digitally and electronically than ever before, leaving paper, well, in the trash. And there’s good reason for that.
Consumer Preferences: Shifting to Online Banking
October 29, 2009The branch was once king, the most popular consumer banking channel. But the branch has now been dethroned by the online channel. Long live the online channel! The branch is far from dead, of course. It’s just that at this juncture, for the first time, it seems that more of us prefer to do our banking from our desktops and laptops.
Digital Services Investments Make Sense in Today’s Economy
October 22, 2009No doubt about it: times are tough. Last week, we saw the 99th bank failure of 2009, when regulators shuttered San Joaquin Bank in Bakersfield, Calif. But times have been tougher in the past, and when they were, the industry rebounded to even greater heights. In the Savings & Loan crisis of 1989, for instance, a whopping 534 banks failed in just one year.
The Satisfaction Gap: Are Your Customers as Satisfied as You Think They Are?
October 9, 2009Do you really know what your customers think of your organization and the services it offers? Clearly, understanding your customers' opinions and satisfaction levels with your bank and the services it provides can help you tailor products and services to better meet their needs and expectations. But in this economy, the ability to effectively provide these services can make a big difference for customers, who are likely to take their business elsewhere if they're not satisfied with what you're offering them. And today, that's bound to happen if customers are dissatisfied with the digital services your bank provides.
Is Going "Green" Really That Important to Customers?
October 8, 2009It seems everyone--and everything--is going "green" these days. Producers and providers of everything from building materials to bathroom cleaners, from mulch to machines are striving to make their products more sustainable and earth-friendly. And for many organizations, it turns out that going green is not only good for the planet, it’s also good business.