Well, back at work. How does it feel?? Wearing a suit sure is weird - my neck seems to have gotten bigger (cant think why). And so, to banking ...
Welcome to 2009, the year after the (big bearish) one before. As is custom, I've been reading everyones 2008 reviews and 2009 predictions (lists it seems are a good way to generate traffic, or buzz), there are many opinions on whats to come.
As for the Australian market, and banking in particular, I see a year of both transcending innovation and conservative business and financial management (this will result in conflict of resource allocation and funding) - how can direct banking channels realise the cost savings and revenue generation the banks need to survive the difficult period ahead, whilst still competing for customer loyalty and leveraging emerging technologies?
Here are some thoughts ...
Mobile to make big inroads, as long as customers can be bothered
Mobile will have a big year (for all industries) - my personal use of the iPhone might influence my thoughts here, but touchscreen will simply become ubiquitous within 24 months, particularly to those under 30. The initial push back will be about convenience and apathy rather than capability of handsets or learning new ways.
Money management to become more scrutinised by banks and customers
Customers will come to expect more sophisticated ways of managing their money - that's sophisticated, not complicated. Internet banking must make a leap forward to become the hub of money management - banks want this, customers (most) want it too. This crucial area needs resources and funding before the banks lose to the arrival of independent 2.0 formats - the advantage banks have in a disaggregated model is trust, brand, customer apathy to move/setup elsewhere.
Design is how your company is seen by the world
More than ever, design has become an important discipline in business innovation and creation. Design is not simply the look and feel of an object or experience - its how it makes life better, easier, more efficient. It reflects the very nature of human civilisation itself, evolving and improving through better design. How you design (not just decide) the way your bank works with employees and customers, and how it reflects your brand, will be the defining moments for your business in 2009
Branches to become advice centres rather than places to do things
Branches will become places of expertise, of relationships, more than they have in the past. Like you visit an accountant, lawyer, physio, or even florist, you'll visit a bank to tap into specific knowledge, expertise and processes, rather than simply executing basic tasks. ATMs, IB and mobile will do that for you.
Voice channel will become crucial in retaining customers and building loyalty
Call centres and telephone banking systems with notorious records will suffer from exposure, putting pressure on banks to improve these areas. Adding speech recognition as NAB, St George and Suncorp have done recently will either add to the complexity, or cut straight through to the heart of the issue and remove the problem of first call resolution. But as we've said here before, your channel experiences are only as good as your weakest link - what use is a sophisticated speech system if the wait time is 20 minutes, or the agent cant help you?
Customers want more and less at the same time
More insight, more advice, more advantage, yet less commitment, less relationship, less involvement and complexity - customers will want to keep their banking simple and straightforward, with good visibility on their position at any real-time moment, yet want to ensure they're leveraging or just protecting their money in the best possible way.
In the end, you have to want to create good customer experience
In some ways, its all irrelevant. True customer focused businesses that aim to deliver customer experience quality strive towards this goal regardless of resources and business conditions. Its ingrained in the DNA of these businesses. Can you make it part of your business life, the minute you walk in the door each morning you're asking the question how will this affect the customer, what customer benefit does it bring, why have we made this decision when it impacts the customer in a negative way? Don't get me wrong, you cant build a sound business on customer-led decisions alone, but you can shore up most of your businesses leaks exponentially through improved customer experience.
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2 comments:
Hey Rob,
Nice post.
I think 2009 is possibly the year that someone de-commoditises (if that's a word) retail banking. In your post you mention wanting advice and insight, simplicity, less commitment, and reading between the lines, empowerment. I agree.
It seems to me now that banking has become 100% virtual (or near enough), that cynicism of banks is still high, and that banks (particularly the big four in Australia), are considered to be pretty much the same (despite what the tracking studies say), that it's the perfect time for one of the banks (big or small) to swoop in a grab a huge piece of the action by delivering to consumer wants/needs and therefore advocacy rather than reinforcing the market perception of solely being profit focussed. If one of the banks could do that it could relegate the others to mere-lookalikes and in the process shift the market's retail banking decision-making from one where all the players are fundamentally same-same to a de-commoditised market where the traditional market drivers (interest rates, fees, etc), are less important overall in a customer's choice of bank.
Who do you think is looking set to shake things up the most in the next year?
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