How Digital Is Changing The Retail Banking Industry

Customers have been adopting digital technology for far longer than the past year, and the shift to digital experiences is not entirely new for most. With the rise of mobile phone usage, companies understood the value of a digital experience long before they were forced to accelerate digital timelines.

And while many posed the pandemic as an entirely catastrophic and unforeseeable event, Cathy McKnight, VP of Strategy and Consulting at The Content Advisory, highlights the fact that we shouldn’t actually be framing the events of the pandemic as a kind of black swan moment.

In the keynote session of the Rethink Experiences for Retail Banking event by OpenText, Cathy states that we previously identified moments like COVID-19 as a potential outcome, and leaders consistently urged companies across sectors to be ready for a catastrophe. However, many companies waited to initiate real changes, instead focusing on the processes and priorities of their day-to-day.

Monica Hovsepian, Senior Banking Industry Strategist at Opentext, furthers this idea by stating that nontraditional banking competitors like Uber, Amazon, and Netflix, have been driving innovative customer experiences prior to the pandemic. As customers have gotten used to conveniences like single click purchasing, AI recommendations, and seamless interfaces, they expected all of their services to effectively ‘catch up’.

Both speakers outline the importance of personalization and empathy in the digital age. Hovsepian notes that as customers grow more accustomed to these conveniences, they expect companies to offer the same level of personalization. She notes that banks should be monitoring customers’ transaction patterns to offer these relevant recommendations and build a more meaningful experience. For example, if a bank can recognize a customer incurring college application fees, they can then recommend specific products like student loan packages. This more personalized approach supports customers through all of their life stages and gives them the impression that the company is truly considering their needs.

Cathy Knight touches on the idea of controlling your own narrative and discusses how banks can leverage transparency to further inspire more meaningful customer relationships. “When it comes to things like philanthropy, community involvement, being very transparent in what you do as an organization… own the narrative and engage with the outside public,” But, being open about your narrative isn’t always easy, McKnight notes, it’s controlling what you can and mitigating what you can’t. This mindset is ultimately what makes companies modern, but it may actually be missing from traditional banking institutions. Knight maintains that instilling a level of creativity and awareness on social media, or in your CX strategy as a whole, is what sets companies apart.

Ultimately, the session concludes, companies need to not only recognize their customers at every touchpoint and work to truly understand them — but use this moment to take real action and facilitate more personalized and meaningful experiences.

To hear more from Monica Hovsepian and Cathy Knight’s discussion and learn from other insightful speakers, tune into the Rethink Experiences for Retail Banking event by OpenText on-demand.

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