Customer satisfaction in a high RPM world.

• Author: Motley, Biff L.
• Position: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

UNTIL NOW, retail banking has been a business largely dominated by locational convenience. Customers would choose from among those banks whose physical location put them within about 3 miles or less of their home or workplace. Life was simple. Attractively deployed branches put banks in the decision set and the fight took place within a tactical plan made up of product offerings and advertising to attract new customers and friendly personal service to keep them.

Now things have changed. ABA-sponsored marketing surveys demonstrate that for the first time ever consumers visit websites more than branches to do their routine banking. While this statistic does not eliminate the importance of attractive branches and well trained bankers, it does refocus and amplify the need for speedy, multidimensional marketing initiatives. Here are some ideas to think about.

Anticipate Change. The convergence of those traditional deep currents of bank marketing practices with the tsunami of the Web means the consumer is now in charge more than ever. Consumers now gather decision making information in multiple ways and you have to build your marketing programs around them. Certainly one way to do this in the emerging digital landscape is to build online "Apps" to aid in the just-in-time decisioning and referral mechanisms that used to be centered in the branch. There will be others. And as a marketer, you will need to stay tuned to all of the new trends being driven by emerging "networked marketplace"

Timely Information Is the Way Forward. So called "product of the month" traditional selling strategies are provider-centric, not customer focused. Today, consumers do not want to be sold. They want to be educated on how what you do can be of help to them when they need it And they are increasing adept at going online to scratch their itch. You need to anticipate, develop and deploy creative online mechanisms to give them what they are looking for. With, of course, ways for your bankers to helpfully follow up and stay in touch.

Team Effectiveness Will Replace Departmental Efficiency. Until now, banks were organized into a collection of...