How can banks craft the customer journey?

Banks have made efforts to improve their customer journeys, but consumers often feel it isn't enough. How can banks fix this issue? A panel at the Bank Customer Experience Summit held from Sept. 12 to 13 in Charlotte, North Carolina took a closer look at this topic.

Jerone Abueva, director of B2B Solutions Business Development, Samsung Electronics America, moderated the panel with Lindsey Ogan, CMO, Stride Bank, Courtney O'Regan, SVP, director of Marketing, Middlesex Savings Bank and Liz Schaaf, VP Business Line Experience Strategy manager, Atlantic Union Bank.

Keeping customers engaged

When asked how to ensure customers don't feel disconnected, the panelists pointed to listening to customer feedback.

"Act on feedback they give us very quickly," Schaaf said.

O'Regan pointed to surveys as a key way to gain customer feedback.

"Customers love to fill out surveys, love to be heard," O'Regan said.

Keeping it fresh

Ogan pointed out that it's important to keep a constant attitude of experimentation.

However, Ogan also said that banks should "close the loop, let the customer touch it. Don't get caught in the white board."

By doing this, customers can have time with the product or service and figure out what works and what doesn't work.

Scaaf agreed, saying that you're not going to get it perfect the first time and sometimes, "80% is okay."

O'Regan agreed, saying that sometimes having too many hands on a CX initiative can lead to "too many cooks in the kitchen."

"We are very narcissistic in the banking industry. We like to put customers through our siloed experience," Ogan said. She added that everyone knows we should keep customer centricity front and center, "but we forget to do it, because we are naval gazers. You don't want the customer to feel the speedbump of your silos."

Keeping teams connected

In order to do this, banks need to connect their digital teams well with their marketing and other teams.

Scaaf said you need to build partnerships with your data team, and Ogan pointed out that banks need "people people," not just technology people, building solutions: especially AI.

"Everyone is wringing their hands. What is to become of the people people in the age of machines? You need a people person at the technology table," Ogan said.

While technology teams may be thinking of the possibilities of AI, Ogan argued, "You need to connect possibilities to problems your customers have."

Omnichannel and accessibility

When asked about omnichannel experiences, the panelists said it was a work in progress.

Scaaf said it's key to empower your teams to be able to solve issues with data.

"I break out in hives when I hear omnichannel experience. We are not there yet. It's a work in progress," O'Regan said. She said that banks should take baby steps, such as scanning complaint logs and doing tasks such as journey mapping account opening issues.

Lastly, the panelists spoke about accessibility issues. Scaaf said a good way to determine this is to ask if an 85-year-old grandma can successfully use your mobile app.

"Ask someone with no banking background if they can understand this," Scaaf said, giving the example of a new hire with no banking experience.

Ogan told a story about how in a website redesign project she noticed there was no option to call, which she realized was an issue due to her experience with her blind father who would need that option.

"Because of that personal experience it was top of mind," Ogan said. "Make sure the design team, project team have diversity of experience."

O'Regan expanded on this as she discovered her bank had employees who spoke 17 languages and were able to integrate that experience.

The goal of all of these initiatives should be, as Schaaf said, to "Make sure customers can bank when, where they want."