Every day millions of people are interacting with banks: calling service centres; reading statements; logging-in to websites; visiting branches, and speaking to advisors.
Customer experience lives in the millions of interactions customers have with banks each day. As a bank, the question is not IF you want to deliver a customer experience, but WHAT KIND of experience do you want to deliver.
Good experiences are good for business
A recent Bain & Co survey of executives from 362 firms revealed that 80 percent believed they delivered a “superior experience” to their customers. But when customers were asked about their own perceptions, only 8 percent rated those companies as delivering a superior experience.
Then Bain & Co compared the average annual revenues growth rates of companies’ surveyed. They found that the companies whose customers believe that they offer a superior experience show a 16% higher annual revenue growth rate.
A good customer experience is good for business. Business leaders know this. If you work for a bank (or any large firm) you will have heard executives telling you to “focus on customers, be customer focussed!”.
So why do banks fail to deliver good experiences? Too often we’re put on hold for a call centre agent or queued for ages in a branch or felt frustration at a bank’s website.
What makes a good experience?
At Experience Banker we believe that banks CAN deliver truly great experiences. But it doesn’t happen by creating mission statements or by good intentions. The foundation of a good experience is about delivering on “the basics” of what customers need. For banks this includes making the account opening process easy, or making sure the phone number is on the website and that someone will answer the phone when a customer calls. It’s not about the most innovative product or the latest gadget, it’s about understanding what customers need and meeting those needs.
Great customer experiences happen by listening to customers. They happen by applying a customer experience strategy at all customer touch points. They happen by hiring the right people, from the top down, who care about customers and have the skills to turn customer insight into action.
The experience you deliver to your customers, through every interaction, direct and indirect says more about your brand than all the advertising you could possibly buy.
