It’s no surprise that trust in the banking system is at a low point. In fact, according to the 2013 Capgemini world banking report, between 2006 and 2013 there has been a 50% increase in the number of people changing banks.
More than 10% of customers now change banks every year, and 40% say they are willing to change banks in the next six months.
This challenge leads most banks to rethink the role of their branch network, and how they engage with customers. As most clients are becoming heavy users of portals and mobility, visits to the branch have become rare occasions to be able to interact proactively with clients.
A number of the banks that Lexmark is working with have launched ‘New Branch’ or ‘Next Generation Branch’ projects. The objective is simple: improve customer retention & improve customer experience with fewer branches.
“The key to customer loyalty is to give people the service and support that they can’t get elsewhere. In our experience, one of most common customer complaints about banks is how slow and error-prone banking processes are, so an excellent customer experience is critical.” explains Tim Emens, EMEA industry director at Lexmark.
The ‘new branch’ experience must be that existing and relevant customer data is automatically populated and cross-referenced to complete any given process in one go.
“This enables staff to give customers the service and support that they can’t get anywhere else. Furthermore it ensures that banks can easily get the information they need to process applications, queries and other forms without going back to the customer. Additionally the bank clerk has all the information available to make a bespoke offer based on customer’s individual situation.”
In short, if you as a customer get a fast, efficient and reliable service from your bank, why would you go elsewhere?
