Smartphones:
‘We could be breeding a monster here’

Tech-savvy customers pose a challenge the banks are hard-pressed to meet, says futurologist Dr Nicola Millard. “It’s like the banks are at a party but their customers aren’t talking to them any more.” ANDREW STONE eavesdrops.

In an ever more connected, technology-savvy world, customer expectations are often running ahead of banks’ ability to meet them. The age of smartphones and online finance forums is posing some serious challenges, according to BT futurologist Dr Nicola Millard.

The increased use of smartphones – with 40 per cent UK penetration and climbing – is magnifying and accelerating trends already underway, says Dr Millard. “Smartphones aren’t mainstream yet but they will be soon and we could be breeding a monster here. We’re seeing some strange behaviours from smartphone customers.

“When they are in branch they will be in a queue and will Google the initial answers to their questions, then they ask more complex questions when they get to the front of the queue. The guys at the counter might not have the knowledge to answer those questions. It’s similar in the contact centres. Smartphone users are using all these channels more, they are very well informed and they are asking tough questions.

“In many cases they are getting Google knowledge and sometimes cutting banks out from the conversation altogether. It’s like the banks are at a party but their customers are not talking to them any more.

“Forums are becoming primary channels for many and the banks don’t control those. It’s difficult for them to engage and use them to their advantage because they can’t be seen to be giving financial advice. It poses an interesting challenge for banks trying to formulate a strategy that reengages these customers.”

One answer for the banks, says Dr Millard, lies in providing “networked expertise” – harnessing resources wherever they may be found internally to be able to serve customers however they approach the bank. “I call it speed dating a complex customer question: finding an answer quickly from wherever it might be whether they are a financial advisor, a bank teller or even someone working from home.

“It’s becoming more important to know where expertise lies and how to get access to that information. Tying these loops together will need good CRM and work-flow systems, accountability, regulation and measurement.”

The challenge is undoubtedly a tough one, she says. “Customers are not loyal any more, and they are changing accounts. We are entering an era of business as unusual, with autonomous, wellinformed customers using multiple channels and spotting inconsistencies very quickly – if something on the web is contradicted by a poster or what a frontline person has told them, for example.

“That’s very challenging as most banks are quite siloed. What are the answers? They need to look at the customer experience, not treat ‘online’, ‘the contact centre’ and ‘branches’ as separate things.”

Segmenting customers by type and need, rather than by communication channel, may be a more fruitful way to help shape and improve their experience. ‘Visionaries’ (customers planning to buy a house, for example) will be identified as separate from ‘customers in crisis’ (those needing a problem to be solved quickly) or ‘utilitarian’ customers carrying out everyday tasks. Segmenting customers in this way is already working well in the travel industry, argues Dr Millard.

Although improving the customer experience is more complicated than ever, banks can at least keep one simple and over-arching goal in mind when it comes to the customer experience, she insists: “The research we’ve just done has shown loyalty is dictated more by whether you are easy to do business with than anything else – 83 per cent surveyed agree with the statement and we’re also seeing that from academic studies of loyalty. Ease of use is so important.”

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