Rethinking customer service: What banks can learn from retail

As consumers have become accustomed to great digital experiences when shopping online and in person, they have come to expect them everywhere they do business – including banks.

Deloitte has found that customers want their banking interactions to be as sophisticated, immediate and personalized as their experiences with other companies. However, 94% of banks cannot yet meet this expectation.

Retailers have improved customer experience (CX), particularly in the areas of personalization in banking and customer-centric service approaches. Here’s how banks can increase brand loyalty in banking by learning from some of the retail industry’s CX successes.

Personalization in banking enables great CX

For banking customers, personalization is an essential factor for a high-quality customer experience. A recent Q2 Harris survey report found that 74% of respondents across generations want more personalization in banking and 66% of them are comfortable with financial institutions using their data to personalize experiences. However, only 22% said they regularly feel like their financial institutions anticipate their needs.

Retailers analyze customer data to better understand the preferences of their individual customers and create tailored offers and experiences based on this. Mobile apps that build a bridge between digital and physical experiences are particularly effective.

For example, Target allows customers to create their own shopping lists in the Target app, see what’s in stock at their local store, and even find the items they want in advance. Once in-store, they can scan a barcode to receive app-exclusive coupons when they participate in the retailer’s rewards program. The Starbucks mobile app gives customers personalized food and drink recommendations based on what’s available at their local store, what’s most popular in their community, the weather trend and even the time of day.

A bank could similarly use its mobile app in its branches. For example, the bank could allow customers to check in via their phone upon arrival, join a virtual queue with live information on estimated wait times, and even begin the process of setting up a checking account themselves before meeting with a banker.

With smart self-service tools that optimize the retail banking experience in this way, customers are more likely to feel like their time and attention is valued when they visit a branch in person – something that customers especially like Generation Z will appreciate. The Q2 report finds that 65% of Zoomers prefer to open an account in person, compared to 58% of Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers.

Merging physical and digital experiences to better serve customers

Retailers are creating “stores of the future” that combine advanced technologies like interactive displays and self-service kiosks with data-driven insights to further improve the customer experience. Customers can walk to the displays to receive real-time information on where to quickly find the item they are looking for and complete their purchase using a self-checkout terminal. Bank branches could adopt similar concepts to provide a better retail customer experience.

For example, a customer entering a branch can use the bank’s mobile app to check in and confirm the reason for their visit. If their need is simple, they can be directed to a self-service kiosk. If the customer requires more detailed assistance, a banker can receive a notification on their smartwatch or tablet, walk to the reception area and greet the customer by name. This can help reduce wait times for customers, resulting in a more positive customer experience and can even improve a bank’s Net Promoter Score (NPS). To ensure proper security, the banker can scan the customer’s ID on a tablet to verify their identity. These are just a few ways banks can leverage technology to improve customer care at crucial moments during a branch visit.

Great CX drives brand loyalty in banking

Consumer technology trends are shaping customer experience expectations across numerous industries, including finance. Bank customers have become accustomed to the speed and convenience of digital innovation in retail and want their banks to make the same advances. By introducing personalization in banking and using customer data to provide better services, banks can increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

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