The answer is a hybrid banking model that integrates digital experiences into traditional bank branches

This culmination of factors has led many institutions to create new competitive service offerings, rationalize business lines, and seek sustainable improvements in operational efficiencies to maintain profitability. Failure to adapt to changing demands is not an option; therefore, financial institutions must be structured for agility and be prepared to pivot when necessary.

5. Rising Expectations

Today’s consumer is smarter, savvier, and more informed than ever before and expects a high degree of personalization and convenience out of their banking experience. Changing customer demographics play a major role in these heightened expectations: With each new generation of banking customers comes a more innate understanding of technology and, as a result, an increased expectation of digitized experiences.

Millennials have led the charge to digitization, with five out of six reporting that they prefer to interact with brands via social media; when surveyed, millennials were also found to make up the largest percentage of mobile banking users, at 47%. Based on this trend, banks can expect future generations, starting with Gen Z, to be even more invested in omnichannel banking and attuned to technology. By comparison, Baby Boomers and older members of Gen X typically value human interaction and prefer to visit physical branch locations.

This presents banks and credit unions with a unique challenge: How can they satisfy older generations and younger generations of banking customers at the same time? Imagine, if you will, a physical branch with a self-service station that displays the most cutting-edge smart devices, which customers can use to access their bank’s knowledge base. Should a customer require additional assistance, they can use one of these devices to schedule an appointment with one of the branch’s financial advisors; during the appointment, the advisor will answer any of the customer’s questions, as well as set them up with a mobile AI assistant that can provide them with additional recommendations based on their behavior. It might sound too good to be true, but the branch of the future already exists, and it’s helping banks and fast payday loan Bradenton FL credit unions meet and exceed rising customer expectations.

Investor expectations must be accounted for, as well. Annual profits are a major concern – after all, stakeholders need to know that they’ll receive a return on their investment or equity and, in order for that to happen, banks need to actually turn a profit. This ties back into customer expectations because, in an increasingly constituent-centric world, satisfied customers are the key to sustained business success – so, the happier your customers are, the happier your investors will be.

6. Customer Retention

Financial services customers expect personalized and meaningful experiences through simple and intuitive interfaces on any device, anywhere, and at any time. Although customer experience can be hard to quantify, customer turnover is tangible and customer loyalty is quickly becoming an endangered concept. Customer loyalty is a product of rich client relationships that begin with knowing the customer and their expectations, as well as implementing an ongoing client-centric approach.

In an Accenture Financial Services global study of nearly 33,000 banking customers spanning 18 markets, 49% of respondents indicated that customer service drives loyalty. By knowing the customer and engaging with them accordingly, financial institutions can optimize interactions that result in increased customer satisfaction and wallet share, and a subsequent decrease in customer churn

Bots are one new tool financial organizations can use to deliver superior customer service. Bots are a helpful way to increase customer engagement without incurring additional costs, and studies show that the majority of consumers prefer virtual assistance for timely issue resolution. As the first line of customer interaction, bots can engage customers naturally, conversationally, and contextually, thereby improving resolution time and customer satisfaction. Using sentiment analysis, bots are also able to gather information through dialogue, while understanding context through the recognition of emotional cues. With this information, they can quickly evaluate, escalate, and route complex issues to humans for resolution.