Keeping 'interest rates' high for your bank in the digital age

When it comes to banking, consumers still have the same kinds of needs they have always had: paying bills, checking their balances or getting finance for a home. However, it is how they address these needs that have changed in this digital revolution; and this revolution will not be televised.

The recently released Deloitte Consumer Review—Digital Predictions 2016 report—highlights three main trends that are driving this: increasing digital device ownership, faster connectivity speeds and changing consumer behaviour.

This change in consumer behaviour is something that marketing and digital teams in the financial sector will be quite familiar with. Consumers can get access to information quickly—whenever they want, and wherever they are.

So how can banks maintain relevancy and interest amidst this digital disruption? The fundamental challenge of building and retaining trust with the customer remains, and is arguably more important in your sector than almost any other, especially online. You need to respond faster to these better informed, more demanding customers without increasing your organisation’s risk profile.

A challenge is that bank marketers tend to have more control over paid (TV, print, online) and social media channels than their own digital channels. The result is an inability to provide customers with a seamless experience, from initial touch points to conversion online. A recent example I experienced directly was having to change my name—standing in a branch for an hour while multiple systems were updated, forms emailed and signed, identity verified in one system but not another, all with me feeling the pain of these internal systems disjointedness. I do understand these constraints exist, but creating a seamless change workflow for your customers means they don’t see the back office impacts—this is not a unique problem for banks, but one digital innovation can resolve quickly.

This control is increasingly important. The Deloitte report points out that while mobile devices have become a crucial component for people, they are not replacing traditional laptops and computers. If anything, they are used in tandem to compliment the entire user experience. An example they use is fashion e-retailer ASOS; their mobile page views accounted for 58% of traffic but only 44% of orders. They suggest that consumers are using mobiles to browse before transferring to their computers for more detailed applications, demonstrating how important it is to have a seamless transition from a mobile version of your website to a desktop version.

A key to innovating quickly with digital marketing is safely empowering marketing teams. A simple example is building graduated levels of control into your web platform’s content management system. That is, allowing levels of approval relevant to the significance of the project—from a simple text change on your website through to a major integration with backend systems. The underlying principle being what can you safely do as marketers without needing to bring the tech team in.

To find out more ways of how you can safely increase the pace of your digital marketing, download our eBook—Banking on disruption.