The most successful financial institutions are leveraging advanced analytics to grow customer relationships organically. Using internal and external data, customer needs are not just being met, they are being anticipated.
There is a great deal of discussion in banking around the need to deliver personalized, timely and relevant communications and offers that drive customer profitability, satisfaction and loyalty. Unfortunately, there is still a large gap between the aspirations of bank marketers and the ability to deliver on these goals.
The challenge is that while there are affordable and powerful tools available to create powerful omnichannel customer experiences, most bank marketers are using the same outdated data sources and marketing methodologies they have used for decades. For those marketers who do have the right tools at their disposal, many indicate an inability to use these tools effectively.
The consumer’s buying process is no longer linear or predictable. Consumers often start using one channel and switch channels unpredictably due to individual circumstances. Customers want to interact on their terms, expecting advice and recommendations that are similar to what they receive from other digital partners like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. They want an experience where their needs are not just met, but anticipated.
Despite the challenges, the new marketing reality presents an exceptional opportunity for banks and credit unions to build better customer experiences and deeper consumer relationships. As referenced by IBM in two reports, the current state of marketing is both “the best of times and the worst of times,” where being a marketer has never been more exciting.
To capitalize on opportunities, banks must leverage the wealth of informational assets at their disposal. They must analyze structured and unstructured customer data, and deliver real-time insights that result in unique and compelling opportunities for customer engagement. Most importantly, they must provide advice and solutions across multiple channels.
No two customers are exactly alike. Beyond traditional demographics, transactions, product holdings and service preferences, marketers can now access online activity logs, call-center interactions, direct feedback and social media usage to build a “segment-of-one” profile. But, analyzing all of this internal and external data requires converting data into actionable insights, which is made more difficult due to silos and the impact of locational data.
Beyond developing great internal reports, bank marketers must apply these big data insights for the benefit of the customer. This includes not only providing real-time advice and solutions, but also anticipating future financial needs on a customer level. Financial institutions must also determine the best way to connect with customers to create a win-win opportunity.
As the volume of data has increased exponentially, the consequences of not leveraging insight has never been more pronounced. Ineffective marketing, dissatisfied customers, missed opportunities and reduced wallet share and loyalty are the costs of not communicating to each customer in a personalized manner. While traditional analytics provide a great “rear-view mirror” perspective of what has happened, advanced analytics provides a “GPS” perspective of opportunities ahead.
According to IBM, the benefits of advanced analytics include:
Successful customer acquisition and cross-selling has always depended on being able to deliver the best solution, at the most appropriate time, using the channel the prospect or customer prefers. Advanced analytics allows a bank marketer to not only identify potential sales opportunities more accurately, but to do so in real-time. In the best situation, advanced analytics will identify who may need a specific product or service beforethe customer knows this themselves.
