Published on 11/17/2016 | Operations
Across all industries customer insight is becoming ever more important for generating new and innovative offerings as well as driving flexibility in existing products, to improve customer experience.
In financial services, the importance of insight serves a far greater need. Organizations are under greater scrutiny from regulatory bodies to ensure customers are treated fairly and that they are being offered products that they fully understand, can afford and really need.
This tighter scrutiny is leftover from the 2008 economic crisis and the various mis-selling campaigns that saw banks at fault for irresponsible business practice. The ability to use customer data via predictive analytics tools will enable FS organizations to ensure the right product offers and associated pricing falls within their customers’ means.
Such customer insight has a huge role to play in driving brand loyalty and protecting customers and businesses. Like all companies in this information era, understanding what your customer wants and what your competitors are offering is key to success. A new generation of digitally savvy consumers, is demanding more from financial service providers based on their experience of other industries – especially retail.
Fintechs appear to be pushing banks to a crucial tipping point, with the “ingenuity and creativity” they bring to product development appearing to eat in to banks market share. What sets fintechs apart from banks is their ability to cater to the needs of customers in a format that not only improves the service offered, but better engages customers.
A recent study found that two-thirds of global customers are using services and products provided by fintechs. The reason for this sudden increase and for 15.9% of customers admitting they won’t purchase additional products from their banks is trust. Customers are putting more trust in fintechs as a result of the success of products and services they offer, which comes down to customer insight analysis. These organizations have a growing understanding of customers and can present them with digital solutions that offer them a personalized experience at the tip of their fingers.
Evidently, customer expectations have been raised in terms of excellent customer experience and a personalized, relevant service. But this doesn’t necessarily mean banks must create an entire portfolio of new products. Instead they should look to provide more flexibility, based on insight, for packaging and pricing existing offerings to better meet the needs of customers.
