Video Chat Innovation:
I was one of those rare kids that saved the majority of my money when I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong, I like to spend it too. As a kid, I got my first paying job working at my parents’ restaurant at ten years old. As a child of Entrepreneurs, I worked weekends, summers, nights, whatever to make money and help. With the money, I earned, I saved it up to start a candy business in middle school that was grossing $500/week at the age of twelve.
Most importantly, I learned the value of money and established my first banking customer experience when I was eleven years old. My dad (thinking I had saved a few hundred bucks) had been telling me over and over to “save your money” and took me to open my first bank account. I was so excited to go there, to get checks, to show him and make him proud that I had saved over $2500 to put into my account. The bank teller and my dad were shocked when I pulled out the wad of cash I brought in.
“That first banking Customer Experience was quite different back then and so were my expectations as a Consumer.”
As a Consumer, I wanted to talk about how I made the money, about the school, about my candy business, and have a soda with the Branch Manager. Boy, has that changed to my current day expectations from a bank. With mobile technology, our expectations of how we want to interact with a bank have changed. But have the banks adapted to that?
What did Consumers want from a banking relationship (BEFORE) five years ago?
- They wanted someone they knew or someone a friend/family member knew.
- Consumers’ wanted that relationship, that person that knew their name, that knew their family.
- We didn’t care about what technology the bank had, we just needed ATM’s (no crazy fees) and a fast drive-thru.
- It was important that checks were free, there were low ATM fees, and branch location for convenience.
- We knew the banking hours; we didn’t love them but we respected and planned for going to the bank Monday to Friday from 8 to 5.
So how has that changed, what do we EXCEPT from our banking customer experience today?
- Most consumers under the age of 45, cringe at the thought of having to physically drive over to a bank. You can get your paycheck remotely deposited, pay bills, and remote deposit checks through a mobile app. Why would you ever need to go into a bank?
- Let’s be honest, we just want someone to get something done quickly and right the first time.
- This is what your “today’s” banking customer is thinking. Banks have created a culture of “If I have to go into the branch, I have an issue”.
- Consumer’s select new banks, brokerage firms, mortgage companies, auto loans, and other financial services companies based on their technology (ease of use to do things by ourselves), costs/fees, and banking Customer Experience.
- We want everything instantly at our fingertips, the ability to reach the bank, whenever and however we want. That means speaking to someone through video chat technology without having to go into a branch. Most consumers will take a virtual teller any day of the week vs. fighting traffic, parking, and unpacking the kids.
- We’re about convenience and technology, plain and simple!
Furthermore, the banks are missing an important key ingredient you have created. When I come into the branch, I already have an attitude for having to be there.
Crawling into the heads of the “today’s banking consumer”, let’s think about the ripple effect banks have created.
- If I’m already in a bad mood when I come into the bank, I get more frustrated when I’m waiting in line or for an associate. If the drive-thru could have handled it, I probably could have done it through the mobile app.
- A consumer doesn’t want to listen to new products, open additional accounts, or talk brokerage type cross-sell/up-sell opportunities. Branch employees are trained and compensated to do this but banks have set them up to fail.
Consumers are pushing banks to innovate their Customer Experience and Sales process. They want to communicate the way they want and when they want. The largest market share growth in banking is not from the large brick and mortar banks, it’s from fintech companies. These online companies are growing leaps and bounds with a fraction of the marketing budgets as the big guys. They are doing this by providing a great banking Customer Experience, which isn’t always people. Fintech companies understand that consumers want technology, they want to self-service and talk to someone with the push of a button through banking video chat.
How can the Consumer and the Financial Services company both win?
The banks still need to build that face-to-face relationship but in the consumers’ environment. With smartphone usage over 70% in the US, letting consumers interact with virtual tellers is the next progression in banking.
One Touch Brands technology allows consumers and financial associates the ability to instantly banking video chat. This allows the banks to still get the “face to face” time with prospects and customers. This allows customers to connect with a bank associate virtually whether in their home or on the move. By giving the customers the option to connect virtually, you can increase the Customer Satisfaction. Customers will not be “already frustrated” with this banking customer experience which allows banks to increase revenue with more openness for cross-sell/up-sell opportunities.
@onetouchbrands
@carriechitsey