The new generation of customers interacts with their banks through digital channels; From pre-qualifying for a loan on a mobile device to exploring credit card options on a laptop, next-generation customers have embraced the conveniences that the digital age has brought to the banking industry.
With the facilities that digital channels provide when interacting with banks, it is not uncommon for customers to seek services from multiple institutions. A user can have a mortgage, a personal loan and several credit cards, and manage all this with different institutions.
Due to this emerging customer demand and increased competition, banks need to adopt a modern, customer-centric service approach to ensure they remain the preferred choice for their users. One of the strategic levers to have a customer-centric approach is to develop capabilities that allow them to make their marketing, sales, product, services and systems teams work as one from anywhere. How can banks make this happen? And what are the benefits of implementing it?
CRM; Customer Relationship Management
Customer Relationship Management, CRM for its acronym in English, refers to Customer Relationship Management. Banks can implement it to have a bank-centric approach. Next, I list the advantages of this model.
1. Get a 360 view of each customer: CRM integrates with other programs software banking to provide a single view of each customer. From making a deposit at an ATM to requesting information on a certain type of loan, every action a customer takes is recorded in the system. This makes it quick and easy to gain deeper insights into your personal habits and preferences, helping banks align certain products with your financial goals.
2. Improve customer retention: With many customers today choosing online banking solutions over in-person experiences, creating strategies to foster long-term relationships can be difficult for many organizations. With a CRM, there is a wealth of data available that can be used to proactively deliver personalized services. For example, if a bank teller adds a note to a customer’s profile saying they were asking questions about a certain type of loan, the loan department can follow up by emailing relevant information explaining their options. This tells the customer that the bank listens to him, understands his needs and really offers him products that interest him.
3. Enable processes faster: With a single, unified system, any bank employee with the appropriate permissions can access a customer’s profile to quickly get up to speed on customer-related topics. For example, if a customer contacts a bank’s customer service center, the associate she speaks with can make real-time updates to her profile. When the customer visits your branch, the bank tellers will be able to see the notes of their interaction with the call center. This can eliminate any duplicate conversations and give the bank teller a comprehensive understanding of her situation.
4. Use insights to improve sales and marketing efforts: The data in a CRM is compiled into reports to gain a much deeper understanding of customers. From there, it’s easy to identify trends, successful campaigns and the return on investment they generated, as well as areas for improvement that will help anticipate customer needs and tailor marketing efforts. marketing futures. The data can also be used, using artificial intelligence, to identify areas for cross-selling and up-selling. For example, if a customer makes a deposit within the bank, and meets certain predefined criteria, the CRM’s artificial intelligence can tell the teller to notify the customer of new products they may be interested in or qualify for, such as a platinum credit card
5. Generate more leads and sales opportunities: Through the tools of a CRM, specific marketing campaigns can be created according to the customer segmentation that the bank wants to target. This results in a greater creation of prospects and sales opportunities, as well as a greater possibility of converting them. In addition, the prospects that are received, through the data and intelligence of the CRM, can be assigned to be attended by the bank executive that best fits the prospect’s profile. This will help the executive to have a better follow-up of the prospect through a process tailored to the needs of the bank and the product or service of interest to the prospect, which also increases the prospect’s chances of conversion.
6. Make staff more productive: With all customer information available in a single system, employees don’t need to search through emails or consult multiple platforms to get the answer to a quick question, eliminating repetitive administrative tasks. As a result, employees spend less time searching for data and more time nurturing customer relationships. Plus, employees can access a CRM from any device—like a laptop, desktop, or smartphone—meaning there are no limits to where and when data can be viewed.
Through these benefits, banks can translate the correct and focused implementation of CRM into sales growth, increased productivity and improvements in the customer experience. What can be seen reflected in an increase in the conversion rate, from cross-selling y de up-selling, as well as a reduction in the percentage of abandonment. These are just a few metrics that help banks measure their sales growth due to CRM implementation.
For the reasons mentioned above, different banks are evaluating the implementation of an institutional CRM. However, achieving the full benefits of a CRM implementation is not easy, as banks face multiple challenges in making their CRM work for them. It will be interesting to see how many banks end up implementing it in Mexico.
Ankit Sharma, PwC Financial Services Advisory, Mexico
–
