Mar 11
21
Welcome to the new world of banking. If last year was the year that saw the rulebook rewritten, 2011 will be the year companies transform their business plans to meet the new challenges and embrace opportunities.
One area those opportunities will be prevalent is within technology and innovation. At the Retail Financial Services Symposium I was fortunate to spend several days discussing these opportunities (and challenges) with banks of various sizes.
Two areas that received most of the attention were mobile banking and social media. The number of banks with mobile banking and a social media presence has grown dramatically over the past year. However, many are still asking the question – What’s our next move? There is no clear cut answer to this question, but many banks have begun to brace themselves for this new world of banking.
I was quite impressed to see the number of banks who have “gone social.” Banks of all sizes are now engaged on social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Many are unclear on their next move, but simply knew they needed to be present. The same held true for mobile banking. The number of banks that now support some form of mobile banking has grown immensely. However, beyond being another simple transaction channel, banks are still scratching their heads around the true power behind mobile banking.
My conversations led me to believe that looking beyond the basics of these two emerging channels is vital to the success of this organization and an area where many banks have yet to explore. However, this must be done in the constructs of a strong strategy and shared vision. Winston Churchill once said, “It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see. “ Following this simple guidance is the first step to integrating mobile and social as part of our everyday business plans. If not, they can quickly become the next “shiny objects” we don’t chase until it is too late…
I have had the opportunity to speak at some great conferences over the past few years and 2011 will be no exception. I just presented at the American Bankers Association Insurance Risk Management Forum (blog post on conference highlights forthcoming) and I’m gearing up to present at the following conferences over the next few months:
If you plan to be in attendance at any of these, please shoot me an email or comment.
Free choice is a wonderful thing. At least, it is when one of the options happens to be desirable. When none is, you have on your hands what is known as a dilemma.
At first, a dilemma was exactly what online banking seemed to present to bankers. The fear was that offering online services would reduce or even eliminate personal contact, which isn’t helpful in a relationship business. Yet with growing demand, not offering online services could mean losing clients to competitors, not to mention forgoing the benefits of increased speed and error reduction.
However, the days of impersonal transactions are safely behind us. A bank that still limits its view of online services to inquiries, transfers and payments needs to wake up and smell the virtual coffee. In fact, it should banish the term online banking from its lexicon for a more apt and visionary term. Like, say, interactive banking. Because today, a well-conceived and organized interactive banking division can be — or at least feel — every bit as relationship-building as in-person one. Read the rest of Resolving the Banker’s Dilemma »
I’ve recently blogged about how consumers are starting to expect interactions with brands online and if businesses aren’t doing so, they’re missing a huge opportunity to leverage advocates, drive sales and increase favorability. But how about banks? Working in the Interactive Department of a bank, I’m obviously a huge proponent of it, but how do others feel? Read the rest of Banks Are Your Friend? »