The financial services industry has been in significant upheaval since the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Traditional channels have been disrupted for social distancing purposes, while the relationship customers have with their bank is changing dramatically.
Digital account opening (DAO) is not just a convenient option anymore. The consumer mindset has shifted to favoring online services, which are now viewed as essential for public health and safety. Suddenly, we are relying heavily on digital channels (including call centers, online chats, and virtual meetings) to meet increasing customer expectations.
A growing percentage of consumers are opening accounts online as DAO becomes a safer and more convenient option. J.D. Power found that only 46% of consumers will go back to “banking as usual” once the pandemic is over.
In light of these trends, financial institutions must reconsider what their customers’ needs are and how those needs can be addressed during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Banks should be focused on building customer-centric DAO processes and creating experiences that are worthy of their best customers. This is the first maxim for building an ideal portfolio as we venture into the next year.
What does it look like to have an outstanding experience? We certainly know what a bad experience looks like. For instance, we know that it’s particularly frustrating for customers when they’re asked to provide the same information multiple times during a loan application process. Another common complaint is when customers have to devote more hours and energy than necessary because they weren’t told how the process works or which documents they’d need upfront. These friction points are signals to customers that you don’t value their time and you aren’t focused on providing a customer-centric experience.
In order to prevail through the economic uncertainty and beyond 2020, banks need to take an objective evaluation of where they stand. This means realistically evaluating your digital capabilities so you can determine whether your services meet consumer demands. You must identify the areas that need improvement and make keen investments that will set you up for long-term success.
The quality of the experience that you create for prospective customers during the DAO process is critical. Therefore, you need to deliver an experience that is streamlined, intelligent, and transparent. The technology is available and the data is there – you just need to make it useful.
We’re at a point where digital account opening shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes for a customer to complete, and yet many banks still have a DAO process that takes much longer.
There are many ways you can make the process more efficient. Go through each step and identify sticking points that may be slowing customers down. Remove steps that ask customers for redundant or unnecessary information. Also consider providing time-saving options, like allowing customers to scan a driver’s license instead of having to manually enter the data. The goal is to shorten your sales funnel by streamlining the onboarding process. This means you need to address any points of friction and make it as easy as possible for customers to navigate the application entry process.
It’s also crucial to increase your data awareness so you’re able to determine what you already know about a customer versus what you don’t. Provide convenience by setting up your system so that existing customers can have their information pre-filled with the option to update/change it. Having the ability to access that data during DAO is crucial because it determines your next steps.
