The digital environment brings new opportunities for customer acquisition and engagement. However, financial institutions must also address the evolving challenges in an Omni-delivery ecosystem to take full advantage of these opportunities. Some of these potential challenges include:
- Customer journey misalignment: Traditionally, bankers enjoyed a face-to-face relationship with customers, including opportunities to influence during the early awareness and consideration stages of the customer journey. With consumers increasingly researching brands and solutions digitally, institutions are often unaware of consumer needs, intent, and propensity to purchase during those early stages, losing valuable opportunities to engage, educate, and influence purchasing decisions.
- Diminished customer insight: As consumer empowerment increases, the financial institution’s knowledge of customer intentions and behavior decreases, reducing the bank’s visibility of consumer needs and desires, frustrations, and attrition indicators.
- Market segment diversity: Today’s consumer diversity has increased. The U.S. has five distinct market segments varying widely by age, income, asset value, and channel use preferences. On the other side of the balance, consumers value personalization and demand that engagement content be relevant. With critical purchasing power shifting to Millennials and Gen Z consumers, segmentation cannot be ignored. A lack of customer understanding leads to reduced content relevance and a loss of connection. Therefore, success requires a deep understanding of segmentation to be relevant.
Successful institutions leverage solutions that transform customer acquisition strategy from reactive to proactive regarding omni-channel delivery. Solutions empower earlier customer detection and engagement, focusing on identifying needs and quantifying purchase propensity in the awareness and consideration customer journey stages. Additionally, effective Omni-channel delivery solutions provide a positive customer experience approach to fulfillment, abandonment retargeting, relevant onboarding, and retention.
For more information, download the Acquiring Customers and Fulfilling Their Needs in an Omni-Channel Environment interview brief.
