How Banks Are Putting the Customer Back at the Center

Strengthening the balance sheet, cutting costs, restoring trust, improving service levels, retaining customers… Banks have faced challenges in recent years that have even called their very raison d’être into question. Addressing all these challenges requires radical decisions. Read how one of our clients is tackling these issues.        

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The banking industry faces no shortage of challenges. Client expectations are rising as they seek the same kinds of highly personalized, consultative, and engaging experiences they’re accustomed to in virtually every other aspect of their daily lives. At the same time, clients are becoming increasingly sensitive to fees. That sensitivity is putting considerable pressure on banks to reduce their fees or, in some cases, eliminate them altogether.

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Further complicating matters is the fact that many products in the banking industry are becoming commoditized, meaning that unless they can find other ways to add value, most banks are forced to compete solely on cost. As if that weren’t enough, banks also have to contend with the fact that the cost of conducting business in person is rising. While talking to clients and prospects in person is critical to building and maintaining strong relationships, it’s also expensive and time-consuming. In practical terms, this often puts banks in a difficult position, forcing them to be extremely selective about when, where, and how they use face-to-face interactions. And that, ultimately, can have an impact on revenue.

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Now that we have a sense of some of the challenges banks face, let’s take a look at one of the innovative ways our customer is tackling them head-on.

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Dealing with the challenges facing today’s banking industry requires a fresh approach. For some banks, the solution is to reduce the cost of their client interactions while also using a combination of technology and marketing tactics to increase unaided sales.

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By adopting this client-first approach, our customers benefit from technology that makes the time they are able to spend with clients much more meaningful.

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Specifically, senior managers can adopt strategies that enable their client teams to take ownership of as much of the client journey as possible. This makes it possible to increase unaided sales without the high cost of maintaining an extensive office network and operating large customer teams. Technology has played a critical role here, not only on the marketing side, but also when client managers actually meet with clients. For example:

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• Client managers have traditionally carried large portfolios filled with meeting materials to in-person meetings. Today, however, they can use handheld technology that allows them to have everything they need in digital form right at their fingertips. Plus, they can customize those materials on the fly to suit each client’s individual needs and quickly find new materials when requested.

• Marketing & Communication is now taking a proactive role in ensuring the timely execution of client management cycles and activities, making face-to-face meetings more meaningful by using analytics to eliminate the guesswork surrounding clients’ needs and goals.

• By leveraging technology within both their marketing and client teams to gather client insights, data, and preferences, our customer knows exactly what their clients care about. As a result, it’s now easier for client teams to have more valuable client meetings. by.

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Ultimately, this hybrid, client-first coverage model does not diminish the importance of client-facing meetings. Rather, it makes them more valuable and meaningful by leveraging technology to ensure that client and marketing & communications teams remain aligned throughout the entire client journey.

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Despite initial skepticism, our customer is increasingly recognized for its innovative take on a client-first approach. If you have any questions about what our sales enablement solutions can do for you, please contact us.

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