5 excellent reasons — and counting — to attend the upcoming Bank Customer Experience Summit

To paraphrase economist Rudi Dornbusch in a 1997 interview on the PBS show, Frontline, "[Change] takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought."

That's an observation that will resonate with countless banking executives today who are feeling pressure to compete with financial startups (or upstarts, either works) that seem to come hurtling out of nowhere in numbers that grow larger by the day.

At the fifth annual Bank Customer Experience Summit one month from now at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile, a gathering of banking professionals will learn about trends and technologies that can help them stay on top of today's fast-evolving consumer banking environment.

In an immersive event kicking off at 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18, and wrapping up at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, retail banking executives will hear from more than three-dozen presenters and panelists about critical aspects of a competitive, customer-driven omnichannel banking environment.

If you're a banking professional whose responsibilities at your institution involve customer experience; retail, mobile or digital banking; ATM and self-service operations; technology and innovation; marketing; or payments, here are five reasons to register immediately for the 5th annual BCX summit:

1) A killer keynote: 'The future of consumerism'

"Retail prophet" Doug Stephens will shed light on shifts in economics, demographics, technology, and media that are transforming the consumer landscape and the essence of retail banking.

Doug will describe what proactive brands are doing to reimagine their business by:

• gaining a greater understanding of the consumer and how, where, and why they use banking channels;
• rethinking how the modern branch should look and feel — and how customers might utilize it;
• thoughtfully integrating mobile technology, social media, location-based services, machine-to-machine connection, big data and developing technologies to change the nature and delivery of financial services.

2) BS-free breakouts

Breakout sessions at some industry conferences can seem less like serious discussions of industry issues and more like not-so-subtle sales pitches. There will be none of that here.

Breakouts at the BCX summit will deliver expert perspectives on relevant, real-world-applicable trends and issues. The bottom line for each breakout will be to provide useful, in-depth knowledge that you can take home and tailor to your own institution.

3) Genuinely interesting general sessions

We've put a lot of thought into bringing you presentations that break time-worn conventions by introducing fresh formats and thought-provoking perspectives.

For instance, the Great Debate. This year's face-off will pit teams of topic experts against one another (in a friendly way, of course) as they promote their points of view on the pros and cons of adopting a single standardized platform for mobile payments.

Additionally, we'll follow up last year's well-received millennial-aged consumer panel with a multigenerational group of retail banking customers. Our professional moderator sound out young, middle-aged and senior adults, testing the usual assumptions about what demographic groups want from their banking experience.

4) Nothing but net(working)

Opportunities abound to mingle with friends and meet with peers during the Bank Customer Experience Summit. There's the cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception immediately following the opening keynote; breakfasts, breaks and lunch before and between sessions; a sumptuous dinner and (short, we promise) awards ceremony on Tuesday evening at the Sofitel.

5) Chicago!

And in the unlikely event that you can't think of a single thing to do on a balmy September evening in Chi-town ... here's all kinds of help.

Review the agenda for the Bank Customer Experience Summit or register to attend.