SAS, BAI study: Banks must do digital better to meet customer demand

Cary, NC (Aug 27, 2015)

Consumers highly value online banking – and those that prefer digital services use them a lot. But are banks keeping up with demand? “No,” says a recent report published by Bank Administration Institute (BAI) and analytics leader SAS.

The report Digital Banking and Analytics: Enhancing Customer Experience and Efficiency found that 40 percent of respondents use online banking at least five times a month. About 22 percent use mobile banking just as much. And though satisfaction varies by bank size, in general more than 40 percent felt neutral or worse about mobile banking.

Consumers who rely increasingly on mobile devices are experiencing more convenience and personalization from retailers. Naturally, they expect the same from their financial institutions. Consumers want and expect banks to learn their preferences, just as online retailers do, and to be a step ahead in understanding what they want.

On the positive side, dissatisfaction means room to capture new market share, especially with millennials. These young adults are just selecting their primary banking relationships. And they’re especially partial to mobile. By attracting millennials today, financial institutions can solidify relations with them as they approach the years when they’ll need more sophisticated financial services.

But the effort can’t stop with starting an account – millennials can be fickle. According to the survey, 38 percent of millennials ages 18-20, nearly half of ages 21-24 and 40 percent of ages 25-34 indicated they would switch to a new financial institution if it offered innovative products and services.

Even for those customers who prefer digital channels, personal service matters. Nearly half of customers ages 21-24 believe high-quality personal service is more important than financial expertise. Those numbers dip only slightly in subsequent age ranges.

Still, while many customers prefer digital, they are not using it exclusively. They may visit a branch once, pay bills on the website, and deposit checks via mobile. The personal relationship can’t get lost across channels. So the financial institution that creates an ideal customer service experience in an omnichannel environment will win. In a best-case scenario, customers don’t have to repeat their problem to a call center agent after attempting to resolve it themselves online. Instead, the agent sees what they have started online and can quickly clear up the issue.

“The only way to provide the services customers increasingly demand across all channels is by applying advanced analytics,” said David M. Wallace, Global Financial Services Marketing Manager at SAS. “Analytics enables banks to combine data from wherever a customer interacts with them – online, in store or mobile – to create a clearer picture of each customer. That view makes it more likely that they can keep current customers and attract new ones.”

Download the full study results in Digital Banking and Analytics: Enhancing Customer Experience and Efficiency.