How digital signage can enhance the bank customer experience

Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part series examining the role of digital signage in banks and credit unions, which previously was published in ATM Marketplace sister publication Digital Signage Today.

Read part one.

Building trust and improving interaction

People want to know that the people they're trusting their money to know what they’re doing. Employee spotlights on your digital signs, including a brief CV or list of credentials, can go a long way to assuring customers that these people are the right ones to trust. Accomplishments by the organization as a whole can also be spotlighted with awards, certifications and honors on screens.

There are likely some busy branches where people may have to wait in line. Studies show that digital signage queueing systems greatly alleviate perceived wait times by letting people know where they are in the queue and approximately how long they have to wait. And while they're waiting, they're being exposed to your digital signage messages, learning all about what you can offer them.

Interactive digital signage can also stand in for an information desk or concierge in the lobby. People get what they need from the screens, which frees up staff to help with more specialized needs and give more personalized service. This allows more people to benefit from your expertise.

Leveraging existing relationships

People tend to trust things they already know. This is why cross-sells and up-sells are an important part of modern finance business models. Easy enough to do with digital signage messages: imagine a message that says something like “Think about our Silver Level package” with a few bullet points and then a way to link out to a webpage with more information (or you could even have a stack of brochures right there, next to the screen).

Localization can also play a part in building trust. People like to trust people like me. One way to encourage that thinking is to profile your client base and see who they are. If you have a large number of clients who are ethnically or culturally Filipino, why not have some messages in Tagalog? When choosing images for your messages, put in some Filipino faces. With interactive solutions, you can even let people see everything in Tagalog just by pressing an onscreen button that changes the language.

You can also do community spotlights and testimonials. Local business owners who have benefited from your investment, people who can buy a home thanks to the help you gave them, etc. When asked, most people would be happy to participate in such a thing (and imagine how much fun it would be for people to walk in and see their friend or family member giving a testimonial on your screens).

People like to feel connected to their community, so you should highlight local projects you’ve invested in, or other ways you contribute to the area. Include charity events and initiatives to show that making money isn’t the only thing you care about.

The ways you can improve the customer experience and help build a sense of trustworthiness to your client base are innumerable with a comprehensive digital signage deployment. As Ernst &Young says, 'Trust: without it, you're just another bank." Your customers don't want a faceless institution. They want a bank that cares about them and the world they live in, and that are experts in their field. That's who they will trust with their money.