Omnichannel has been the newest mantra bandied around in the executive ranks of traditional brick and mortar retailers. Omnichannel is the seamless integration of brick and mortar stores with online and mobile commerce. This form of retailing, which lets consumers move seamlessly among all retail environments, both real and virtual, will eventually be the norm.
Retail banks are moving in this direction with multi-channel initiatives. The consultative nature of banking entails a high-touch approach with customers and makes it challenging to deliver consistent services and recommendations across all channels. With more than 100 products and multiple channels including online, branches and the customer service center, it is very difficult to create a seamless omnichannel experience for the consumer/small business.
The omnichannel initiative has extensive IT implications that could take years and millions of dollars to implement. However there are steps that can be taken that can bridge the gap between the online and the in-branch experience that require smaller investments and take just 90 days to deploy.
- Collect real time customer data – Banks need to ask prospects and existing customers the same set of questions whether it be online or in person to be able to evaluate their current financial needs.
- Create consistent product recommendations across all channels – Banks needs to make consistent product recommendations online, in the branch or from customer service representatives.
- Put branch and customer service employees in the driver seat by providing the right the tools – Give bank employees the same automated tools so that they can provide consistent service in any channel.
- Use collected data to create customer loyalty – You will get a snapshot of current market conditions if you are consistently and methodically collecting customer data in real time. You won’t be relying data that could be two years old.
- Use analytics to manage the process – Leverage analytics to see what was recommended and what was sold to manage each channel.
Omnichannel banking is only a call away. I’m ready – are you?
