22 serve customers better and immediately know where the communication originates. The key is to provide selfservice when customers want it and human connection when they need it. A unified communication solution with a holistic communication strategy are powerful tools to accomplish this. 3. Personal Financial Management Tools According to a recent Aite-Novarica study, five in 10 consumers worry about the amount of debt they have, whether they’ll be able to pay it off and how that struggle will affect their overall financial well-being. The research firm also found that over 60% track day-to-day finances through digital banking. Your financial institution is uniquely positioned to offer guidance and promote financially healthy behavior to customers. Focusing on financial management and financial wellness resources helps illuminate your customers’ financial picture and engage them with your digital platform. A useful personal financial manager empowers customers to interact with the data to create budgets, goals and more. Consider the average consumer has many financial accounts between deposits, loans, retirement and other assets. What if those disparate accounts were aggregated and accessible from one location? Many third parties, like Quicken and Mint, already vie to create that centralized platform with valuable financial insight and meaningful displays of assets and liabilities. Again, financial institutions could lead by providing access to not only their own accounts but also all other accounts and information customers need for accurate financial summaries. Looking Ahead – Gamification in Banking Some institutions are beginning to engage customers through gamification and incentives. This sphere is being strongly influenced by outside markets, like retail and social media, either already providing or working to provide a gamified experience. Gamification can mean many things, like a points system, lottery, progress charts or badges. Typically, these are made possible through partnerships with tech-savvy providers. By making banking more “fun,” customers are encouraged to return to digital banking for reasons other than their usual banking needs. While many already gamified industries differ from banking, those same industries compete for your customers’ engagement and attention. So, while this hasn’t yet been a high priority for banks, many expect it to become a more frequent talking point for vendors in the financial engagement space. Transforming the Digital Experience with Customer-Centric Banking Upgrading the digital banking experience is a great way to differentiate your institution from competitors, garner new customers and keep existing ones. As the industry continues to explore engagement and make improvements, an array of experiences will emerge to suit a variety of end-users. Developing a strategy ahead of time for encouraging engagement and putting the customer first sets you ahead of the curve. For a guide to driving engagement through a customercentric banking model, check out our white paper. n Shelby Isert serves as Product Manager for Digital Banking, with her efforts mainly focused on developing the CSI Digital consumer engagement and financial wellness strategy. Her inside knowledge of consumers and financial institutions’ needs has helped her develop the skillset required to grow products that cultivate a great user experience and improved engagement. During her career, she has led several conversions and launches for various products, including digital banking, credit card and tokenization services. n continued from page 21
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