Pub. 18 2021 Issue 2

20 EMBRACING DIGITAL STATEMENTS TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT By Jimmie Paradee, CSI I magine accessing your monthly financial statement on a single responsive page. That page provides an intuitive view of your finances, segmented in a logical hierarchy. Perhaps an integrated video introduces the statement or walks you through the highlights, including spending categories and spikes. Let’s say you don’t recall a transaction. So, you ask for clarification through your device’s microphone or live chat. Once you master your statement, another piece of media catches your eye. It could be rewards, savings recommendations, investment opportunities or a service about which you were unaware. This may seem like a pipe dream, but so did other digital changes that have happened over the past years. Digital demands have transformed every corner of the financial services industry. Statements are following suit, adding significant value to consumers. Institutions that seize current opportunities and plan for upcoming technologies can transform the mandated process of sending bank statements into an effective engagement touchpoint. A Look at the Current Statement Landscape Before glimpsing into the future of financial statements, consider the following trends. Of the respondents to CSI’s recent survey, over one-third of financial institutions primarily (36%) or solely (2%) deliver paper statements. That’s almost double the number of customers who prefer to manage finances digitally. It’s true that many customers still rely on paper statements, and there are advantages to providing both. Yet, these numbers suggest an opportunity to shrink the gap between those who prefer digital and those who actually use digital statements. Market upheavals suggest that the time is ripe to advocate for conversion and showcase your digital services. Doing so cuts costs and meets digital expectations. Strategies for Promoting Digital Statement Adoption Interactive digital statements ensure cross-channel consistency and convenience. They update your statements’ appearance to reflect your brand while simplifying marketing and eliminating the rigidity of paper statements. Institutions have deployed a variety of strategies to encourage digital adoption. Some have taken a more direct approach by charging a fee for print or making e-statements the default option. While these methods to digital statement adoption can be effective, consider a subtler approach that showcases the benefits of adoption. With the ever-increasing preferences of digital, many customers who once held fast to paper statements are persuadable. Continue to use every tool at your disposal to inform and reassure customers about digital statements. Highlight the benefits of digital statement adoption – including immediate delivery,