Customer Interaction

Technology Leads to Competitive Advantage

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:37:02 -0500

The 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

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:44:34 -0500

Offering 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

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:20:11 -0500

No 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

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:40:41 -0500

The 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

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:23:02 -0500

"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

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:56:45 -0500

The 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?

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:14:54 -0500

When 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

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:48:40 -0500

Customers' 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

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:28:53 -0500

A 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

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:56:28 -0500

If 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?

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:44:57 -0500

Do 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

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:34:36 -0500

So 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?

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:38:31 -0500

Although 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

Wed, 26 May 2010 16:32:31 -0500

According 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

Fri, 21 May 2010 18:29:23 -0500

While 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

Fri, 14 May 2010 14:11:36 -0500

Customer 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

Thu, 06 May 2010 07:43:11 -0500

In 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

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:32:14 -0500

Offering 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

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:27:58 -0500

According 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?

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:39:32 -0500

Today, 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

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:06:55 -0500

Social 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?

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:18:50 -0500

In 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)

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:05:46 -0500

Last 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?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:44:51 -0500

By 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

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:11:08 -0500

It 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.