Vertical: What's Critical in The Vertical
Vertical: What's Critical in The Vertical
Vertical: What's Critical in The Vertical
IN THE
WHATS CRITICAL
VERTICAL
Presented by:
Contents
1 10 22 30 34 35 Findings Consumer Detailed Findings Marketer Detailed Findings Expert Perspective About the CMO Council About InfoPrint / About Computershare
These are all critical insights as marketers look to deliver targeted messages and promotions to customers with the goal of up-selling or cross-selling products or services. One popular service being promoted across most banks today is the availability of overdraft protection on deposit accounts. Yet of the consumers audited, only five percent were utilising these money management services to compensate for over-stretched finances. This is not to say that services are not being used. In fact, alternative banking channels like online, eAccounts and the partnership programs like Bank@Post are increasingly popular. Sixty-six percent of consumers are readily turning to these next generation solutions, with 61 percent of that group indicating they will continue to use these solutions. What is of note is that seven percent of those consumers who are using alternative channels provided still value the option for a live engagement as their primary mode of banking, indicating that a live-banking is still a strong portion of the customer experience. Of those customers who are not using alternative channels (representing 34 percent of the total consumer audit base) 31 percent do not trust the solutions with their money. But what is more distressing for the marketers is that 30 percent simply did not know about the new options, indicating that information is not being provided, or that messages hold little attention or relevance to the consumer. Access and preference are minor issues, but nonetheless impacting the customer experience as 18 percent of those not using the solutions simply didnt like the experience, while 21 percent just dont have access to the solutions. But for those customers who are opting in for added value services, the response has been positive. Specifically looking at those customers who opted in for upgraded or premium accounts, about 28 percent of the respondent pool indicated the primary value of these programs were the rewards and points that could be used for travel, gifts or products (57 percent), cash back savings (35 percent) and special offers or priority access to events or offerings (31 percent). Personal banking services (6 percent) rated relatively low in comparison to gaining access to online, paperless or eStatements (21 percent), while lower fees and percentage rates (20 percent) and higher interest rates for savings accounts (16 percent) attracted more attention and approval. Fees are central to the adoption of service, but are also at the heart of several key complaints that customers have with their banks. High fees and unexplained costs are the top complaint (41 percent) levied by customers, while billing errors (39 percent) and higher or even hidden fees for in-person service (34 percent) also rate very high. What is interesting is that customers are more irritated by spam and junk mail (18 percent) than they are by a lack of paperless or eStatements (6 percent) or even limited access to online account information (8 percent). But what is an issue is the lack of service solutions, both online and off, including customer service and support online (12 percent), the rude behaviour of employees (16 percent) or bank branches that are too far away or inaccessible (14 percent). If there is a wake-up call for bank marketers in this list of grievances, it is that service, and the expectation that customers should pay for better service, is largely being rebuffed. In fact, according to 22 percent of respondents, their greatest concern is the banks increase in fees without an increase in service value. Customers, who are growing accustomed to higher levels of service across retail, hospitality, and even communications sectors, will continue to analyze this service to value ratio as banks look to offset service costs through fees. The implications of these complaints and negative experiences go far beyond a few irritated customers. The challenge is that customers, when confronted with a negative experience, have found channels to vent their frustrations. While some limit their rants to family and friends (22 percent), there is a vocal and potentially viral group that is looking to take to the web and let the world know about their issues. What should be noted by any bank executive is how few consumers will give the bank the opportunity to correct the issue as only eight percent of consumers surveyed felt they would call the bank to complain.
The more severe implication of a negative customer experience is, of course, customer defection. While it is very difficult for Australian bank customers to transfer or move accounts, it is being done as 12 percent of respondents indicated they moved accounts in the past 12 months. Of those customers who changed banks, 50 percent did so to take advantage of lower rates or fees, 32 percent were in search of access to more services, and 31 percent were looking to access more services without surcharges or fees. In light of the new proposal to create a more competitive banking environment where customers can more easily transfer accounts, the fact that so many customers were in search of new services should concern marketers especially in light of the fact that 10 percent of customers claimed they did not use additional services or points of access because they simply did not know about them! Clearly, bank customers, while indicating in research that they are satisfied with their banking relationship, they are not complaint-free or completely satisfied with the overall experience. Leveraging points of positive advocacy and value will be key to increasing market-share, and not just maximizing individual customer wallet-share. The reality is bank customers in Australia trust their banks. They value the reputation and dependability of their financial institutions. And while they are not as concerned with issues around corporate social responsibility going green was only valued by 4 percent of respondents -- responsiveness to issues, tips and solutions to help build more robust financial futures are key.
One manifestation of this challenge can be seen when you consider that only six percent of marketers feel they are assuming a leadership role in the delivery of financial planning information and education. But with internal pressures including a mandate to better understand customer lifetime value and identifying high-yield customers, delivery of educational content that does not directly relate to a dollar-earned value can be difficult to prioritize over direct demand generation programs that can deliver higher value leads into sales. Yet 54 percent of marketers are being pressured to develop more effective retention marketing campaigns in order to secure the loyalty (and accounts) of current customers. Coupled with the ability to identify higher-yield customers through an understanding of customer lifetime value, marketers are looking to better segment, target and engage with customers who can truly drive the bottom line and maintain higher levels of wallet-share. Customers are taking control of customer engagements, challenging marketers to listen, adapt and deliver more return. In the bank industry, marketers are aware that customer demands revolve around service and more specifically the disparity between services offered compared to service fees charged. Some marketers have chosen to message their way out of this complaint, adopting tag lines and advertising campaigns that affirm how much service customers have access to and how hard the bank is working for the customer. Among the top issues impacting the industry as a whole, regulatory controls and needs for transparency policies are reshaping banking in Australia according to 34 percent of marketers surveyed. Increased competition is also impacting the bank industry; marketers are now in the position to increase marketing and advertising spend to amplify brand awareness to order to regain wallet-share. These issues are reprioritising customer engagement strategies in the coming year. As marketing looks for better ways to engage, customers are demanding low/no-fee services expecting high-touch, white-glove service for their fees. This expectation is often forcing organizations to invest in often costly resources to manage these customer expectations including additional resources in customer service, support and the creation of personalized marketing engagements. To make these new services more effective, marketers intend to gain a deeper understanding of customer needs and expectations (66 percent), improve the relevance and value of communications and content (64 percent) and drive more customers to online, automated, self-service features (47 percent). But even as marketers say they are being pressured to develop more robust retention strategies, only 26 percent plan on making retaining relationships and building stronger affinity with existing customers a priority for the year. These commitments to priorities seem irrelevant when you look at the low levels of confidence marketers have in their knowledge of customer retention, profitability and lifetime value. Marketers simply lack the confidence to effectively engage with their customer as only 13 percent claim to know their customer. To improve this murky view of the customer, marketing is hoping to have better access to real-time customer data and analytics, more robust technology infrastructures, and closer alignment between cross-functional teams. Yet, there is still a missing piece to this improvement equation, namely management support for transformational programs. Marketers also recognise a need to breakdown functional silos that can often limit access to vital resources and customer data. But, to date, marketing has not invested in customer data aggregation, segmentation or analytics platforms. This point can translate into a positive or a negative outcome, depending on the action taken in response to this inaction. For those marketers who have invested in data platforms of programs, the outcome delivered an improved ability to target customer communications. But often times, marketers feel paralyzed by their data, making costly investments to cleanse, segment and organize data, effectively depleting the
budget required to execute on personalization campaigns. Others look with operational pride at their fully segmented data, but lack the strategies or programs designed to retain customer relationships or even up-sell or cross-sell products or services. For the 73 percent of marketers who have not invested in data programs and platforms, forward momentum is still critical and completely possible. Marketers investing in Precision Marketing strategies those programs that look to provide data-driven engagements that deliver highly relevant experiences to the right customer leveraging the appropriate medium can begin with even the most basic, demographic or location-based data to enrich engagements with personalization. Personalisation is, in fact, a key strategy bank marketers will turn to in an effort to add value to customer communications and engagements. While 24 percent of marketers will look to leverage customer data to personalise communications to reflect specific opportunities to save or invest, the vast majority of marketers will focus on providing tips and ideas for personal finances or savings (76 percent) while also looking to cross-sell or up-sell services to increase customer lifetime value (64 percent). Marketing must seize the opportunity to combine relevant communications in a personalised, targeted engagement that can educate AND cross-sell services. Customers want to be known, valued and rewarded for their years of loyalty. But in a highly regulated, low-competition market, loyalty is expected, and rewarding the customer can come in the form of reliability and dependability. But in this new market that will increase the levels of competition for customer attention, with newcomers to the Australian bank market leveraging low rates, added services or new engagement channels, marketers cannot afford to be ill-informed of their customers and demonstrate this intimacy and understanding through personalised, targeted and relevant engagements. This delivery of relevance to the customer, meeting the deeper expectations and demands of the consumer, will activate a level of advocacy and loyalty with customers that will have a more distinct bottom-line payoff than satisfaction, helping to retain and acquire new business. But there is a need for marketers to focus less on the channel or medium, disengaging from the online versus print delivery debate, instead focusing on delivery value through data-driven relevance. Specific to new business acquisition, digital is at the core of the strategy. The majority of marketers will introduce or improve ecommerce solutions (62 percent) while nearly half of the respondents will establish new partnerships to open new revenue streams and opportunities. Bucking the fact that it is more costly to acquire new business than it is to retain business (and also ignoring that existing customers can be up to 15 percent more profitable than a new customer), marketers will step up individual demand generation programs to acquire new business. There is also a drive to increase marketing spend in order to reach the harder to service, more rural customers. Some of the most profitable partnerships we have combine banking services with local businesses, making it easier for customers to do business with us, said one vice president of marketing for a global bank brand looking to make a dent in the Australian bank market. As the newcomer, and especially as the overseas option, we must leverage the trust in the partner. There has to be a personal connection, at the local level, servicing the big city and the rural outpost, but there needs to be a person, especially since we could be seen as a face-less overseas giant. But marketers are missing a key opportunity to leverage their existing customers to gain new business as only 10 percent plan on leveraging the word-of-mouth advocacy of loyal customers to provide recommendations to new customers. In this interconnected, digitally-social world, word of mouth advocacy is essential as customers are turning to their peers for recommendations, not turning to advertising or marketing messaging to learn more about services.
As marketers look to enhance the customer experience, there must be a deeper understanding of what truly contributes to a valued experience in the minds and the wallets of the customer, versus what appeases the direction and voice of the boardroom. For their part, marketers believe that understanding the needs and expectations is key to delivering an exceptional experience. They also point to responsiveness and resolution of customer issues (41 percent) and offering tools and solutions that are easy to use (46 percent). But, marketers also admit that they are failing to actually achieve this optimized customer experience, admitting that their customers most often complain about their unmet needs and expectations. Marketers are looking for specific tactics to use to encourage customers to remain loyal and hopefully be vocal by recommending their bank to their friends and colleagues. Addressing specific issues may represent quick wins for marketing as the longer-road to customer centricity may take more time to fully achieve. According the respondents, the primary customer pain-points include poor customer service around queries or problems (52 percent), increases in cost, charges and fees (49 percent), and a lack of convenient branch locations within a reasonable distance to home or work (35 percent). And while adding branches may be constrained by budget, responding to issues and acknowledging customer concerns and needs can be delivered through personalization programs, flagged data that prompts employees to resolve and engage with consumers, or even a simple acknowledgement of an issue. It doesnt take much to make a customer understand that they are valued by our bank, stated the head of marketing from an Australia-based market leader. Sometimes it just takes us admitting we were wrong. Customers are willing to forgive, forget and continue the relationship, but only when there is a relationship based on trust and proven over time. It may not be as sexy as a new iPhone app, or as alluring as a new website chalk full of information and community, but customer-centered Precision Marketing strategies can make a sustainable business growth plan in even the most competitive market. Regardless of data sophistication, Precision Marketing focuses more on what is known about a customer than on what is not available to the marketer. The bank market in Australia is truly at a crossroads, placing added pressure on the bank marketer to develop customer engagement strategies that better reflect the evolving needs of an increasingly demanding consumer. The complacency and apathy of the consumer will melt as competition heats up. Marketers have the opportunity to start to shift focus away from the brand or the product and on to the customer. Those who are able to sharpen that focus will find themselves at the center of a new relationship with the customer.
Q2. What type of banking service do you currently use? (check all that apply)
75% savings account 64% Bank/transaction account 47% Credit Card 28% Home Loan 19% Personal Loan 12% Superannuation & Retirement 10% Annuities Managed Funds, Investment Growth
Bonds, etc) Personal Investment (e.g. Education Saving,
9% Business Loan 9% Business Credit Card 6% Business Transaction Account 3% Merchant Services for Business 2% Other
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Consumers
Q3. Based on the services you currently use, please indicate who you primarily do business with: (Primary Bank = the financial institution you consider to be your primary source of financial services, information, etc. alternate = any alternative to your primary bank including a second bank, credit card company, lender, etc.)
Primary Bank alternate Bank
63% 37% 59% 41% 52% 48% 49% 51% 72% 28% 54% 46% 53% 47% 46% 54% 58% 42% 40% 60%
hOMe lOan
PersOnal lOan
BUsiness lOan
CreDit CarD
PersOnal inVestMents
Other
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Consumers
Q4. how many banks, credit unions, or financial institutions do you currently do business with?
81% 13% 2% 2% 2%
2
3 4 More than 5
None
Q5. how long have you done business with your current bank/banks?
7% Less than 1 year 36% 1 - 5 years 32% 5 - 10 years 11% 10 -15 years 7% 15 - 20 years 7% More than 20 years
Q6. how would you describe the relationship you have with your bank?
44% 18% 15% 15% 5% 4%
trusted partner - always there, ready to advise and advance my finances neutral and indifferent - they do what i want them to, but i dont really think about them much technology innovators - providing me with the latest ways to connect and manage my accounts services center - lots of personal attention when and where i want it Cold and faceless - have not seen a person in a very long time Dinosaurs and Relics - business as usual has slowed opportunities to improve my experience
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Consumers
Q7. how has the economy impacted your relationship or view of your bank?
51% relationship is the same 12% priority
so busy keeping up, investing or savings are just not a
collection or credit card calls Open to more premium services to access to more benefits, 7% perks or customer service options
Q8. Do you use alternative banking options or solutions like online baking, eaccounts or Bank@Post?
40% Yes, and will continue to do so 12% Yes, but only in limited situations 11% no, i dont trust these solutions with my money 10% I dont know about these new options 7% primary engagement
Yes, but intend to use tradition in-person channels as my
7% Yes, and will increase usage 7% No, I do not have access to these solutions 6% No, I tried them and didnt like them
12% 12%
Yes
88% 88%
no
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Consumers
Q10. What was the reason for your move (check all that apply)?
50% lower rates 32% More options and services 31% no surcharge or fees 28% Convenience of branch location 12% Transition from credit union to a bank 12% Consolidation of accounts 8% Transitioned from a bank to a credit union 6% Other
Q11. What is top of mind specific to your finances? (check top five)
71% Paying bills on time 57% saving or investing for the future 50% Making ends meet 38% Interest rates rising 32% Prioritising bills to pay this month 26% Understanding my mortgage or loans 24% Stability of banks and financial institutions 20% Access to resources to help me manage my money 10% Juggling online accounts 9% Pension availability 9% Consolidating credit card or high-interest loans 7% Business loans impacting my personal finances 5% Nothing comes to mind 1% Other
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Consumers
Q12. Do you currently hold any upgraded, premium, choice or reward accounts?
28%
Yes no
72%
Q13. if you answered Yes, what is the primary value of these programs? (check top three)
57% rewards points that can be redeemed for travel,
gifts or products
35% Cash back savings 31% special offers, priority access or early access to
events, services or unique opportunities
21% Online access, paperless options and eStatements 20% Priority service 20% Lower fees or percentage rates 16%
Better access to tools and resources to help meet my financial goals
16% Higher interest rates for greater savings 6% Concierge and personal banking service 3% Special resources, content or information
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Consumers
Q14. What are your greatest concerns or complaints about your bank or financial institution? (check all that apply)
41% hidden fees or unexplained costs 39% Billing errors 34% for in-person service
high fees and additional service charges
29% Data loss or security breech 23% Poor quality of service in branch/office 22% in service value
Increase in service fees without increase
18% Payment problems 18% Spam or junk mail overload 16% Rude behavior of employees or workers 14% Branch or office too far away 14% or statements 13% whole
Complicated or hard to understand bills Lack of trust in backing industry as a Poor or unavailable real-time online Hard to locate information on
12% No way to bank online 10% Limited services of account options 8% No access to account information online 8% available
policy Peer-to-peer payment solution not
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Consumers
Q15. have you ever told others or passed along information about your complaints or concerns?
39% sometimes i do, when the complaint is big enough 25% no 22% Yes, i tell all of my friends and family about it 8% Yes, I call into the bank and complain 5% Yes I post online blogs, complaint forums or on my
own blog or social network
Q16. What do you value most about your bank or financial institution?
40% trusted, reliable and accessible 18%
helps me save money with tips and conservation ideas
14% reputable and dependable 12% Responsive and easy to do business with 7% or crisis
Keep me updated and informed, even in a disaster
32% 68%
Male Female
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Consumers
Q18. Basic background information: age
1% Under the age of 18 45% 18 - 24 33% 25 - 34 14% 35 -44 5% 45 -54 1% 55-64 0% Over the age of 65
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42% Constrained in what we can sell to customers and how 41% Creating a more customer-centric culture with both
back-end and front-end fully aligned marketing world
34% Struggling to keep pace in a rapidly evolving digital 29% Looking at global market expansion opportunities 26% Enhancing transparency and visibility in business
operations to secure customer trust
23% Innovating new ways to increase customer satisfaction 23% Developing more programs to assist customer14% Diversifying and looking for new sources of revenue 12% Little changed from years past 6% Assuming leadership in financial planning education
and resources in the marketplace and frugality
6% Dealing with the new normal of economic constraint 5% Working hard to evidence corporate social 0%
responsibility and community commitment Challenged to become more environmental and green
1% Other
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Marketers
Q2. What factors are impacting and influencing your marketing operations? (select top 3)
57% increased pressure on marketing to produce leads
and qualified business opportunities campaigns to secure accounts
54% need for more effective retention marketing 54% More comprehensive customer lifetime value
to justify investments analysis to better understand high value customers
38% Management mandate for measurement and metrics 34% Tightened marketing budgests, and doing more for less 18% target key customer constituencies
Embrace of data analytics to better segment and Making the shift to digital marketing platforms and Embrace of marketing automation tools to increase
15% models; attracting the right talent to support this 6% marketing effectiveness
6% Higher cost to connect and engage with customers 5% Restructuring and realignment of functions to better
intregrate with sales
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Marketers
Q3. What issues or developments are impacting the banking industry today? (select top 3)
78% Customers demand low/no fee service with high-touch, personalized service 68% experience, forcing increased investment in support,
service and marketing engagements Customers expect higher levels of service and
connectivity has increased costs Employee lay-offs and cutbacks impacting continuity 7% of service and revenue growth
4% Deregulation shakeout still impacting business 1% New demands for service require new talent and
resources be brought into the company perceptions of Australian consumers
1% Global financial news and issues impacting 0% Customer desire for green corporate practice has
raised greenwashing questions service more challenging
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Marketers
Q4. What are your top customer engagement priorities for the year ahead? (select top 3)
66% Gaining a deeper understanding of customer needs and
expectations and content
64% improving the relevance and value of communication 47% self-service models
Driving more customers online to use automated, Retaining relationships and building stronger affinity Educating customers through relevant and easy to Developing new points of engagement in order to Unifying message, value and communication across Increasing frequency of communication beyond Enriching and enlivening interactions and content Providing more personalized, targeted engagements Providing greater levels of transparency to grow and Eliminating unnecessary mailings, communication, eliminate clutter for the customer cultural local community advocacy programs
5% Diversifying to satisfy a growing, diverse ethnic and 1% Creating word-of-mouth referral and customer 0% Streamlining communications to deliver a better
customer experience
0% Other
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Marketers
Q5. are you confident in your knowledge of customer retention, profitability and lifetime value?
Q6. What would improve your visibility into customer retention, profitability and lifetime value? (select top 3)
88% Better access to real-time customer data and
analytics
30% Budget to fund programs or projects 29% resources, insight or data across the company 22% who own much of this insight
Breakdown of functional silos that limit access to Closer collaboration between IT and finance teams Formalized mandate for retention marketing
2% Other
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Marketers
Q7. have you invested in customer data aggregation, analytics or segmentation platforms or programs in the past 12 months?
27% 73%
no Yes
Q8.
100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
segmented customers in order to better execute targeted communications Cleansed customer database based on existing accounts and leads collected through demand generation campaigns Unified siloed data across the company into one corporate database Aggregated a mountain of data that nobody really understands how to leverage Pulled marketing-owned data out into its own standalone database Learned that there was incorrect, incomplete or missing information Received a very sophisticated platform, but do not have the internal talent to be able to use it CDI project was abandoned or aborted mid-stream Other
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Marketers
Q9. What strategies are you employing to acquire new business? (select top 3)
62% ramping up ecommerce and customer-direct
communication agreements
46% establishing new partnerships and revenue-sharing 41% stepping up demand generation and customer
acquisition programs
31% Leveraging customer data to better target individual 27% Boosting marketing and promotional spend to reach
harder to reach/rural consumers
21% Restructuring or expanding channels of distribution 18% specific or niche market segments 13% younger customers
Testing and launching new products aimed at Adopting more social media channels to reach
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Marketers
Q10. What do you see as the essential contributors to assuring quality of customer experience? (select top 3)
88% customer
Understanding the needs and expectations of the
46% simplicity and ease of use of online channels 41% responsiveness and resolution of issues 33% Clear definition and value of brand 32% Point of sale (or engagement) knowledge and
responsiveness of agents and partners
18% Quality and reliability of service 15% New products, services and service offerings 15% Availability of self-service options for pricing,
payment and account information
12% Frequency and quality of communication 0% Clarity and accuracy of billing information 0% Accuracy of pricing and coverage information on all
content touch points engagements
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Marketers
Q11. how are you adding value to customer communications and engagements? (select top 3)
76% Providing tips and ideas for personal finances or savings 64% customer lifetime value
Cross-selling or up-selling services to increase Offering enhanced online service offerings including management
24% reflect usage, including specific opportunities to save or 16% Proactively addressing issues, complaints or concerns 13%
Providing additional services to reach more rural customers (like Bank@Post)
12% Complimentary investment tips or resources 6% Educating customers about charges, costs and
service solutions
6% engagements
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Marketers
Q12. What are your customers primary sources of pain or most frequent complaints about your brand, service, product or company? (select top 5)
71% Unmet needs and expectations 52% Poor customer service around queries or problems 49% increases in costs, charges and fees 35% work
No local branches within reasonable area to home/
18% Confusing language 18% High prices and little service 16%
Unexpected charges (e.g. billing shock, high fees or taxes)
12% Attitude and courtesy of company service 9% Constant flow of up-sell and add-on sales messages 9% Lack of self-service purchase and payment options 6% Hard-to-understand billing statements 6%
Impossible to reach a delivery service agent without fees or upcharges
6% Billing errors 6% Privacy / security of sensitive customer data 3% Difficult to navigate website 0% installation representatives 2% Other
Attitude and courtesy of technical service, support or
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Marketers
Q13. What is your title?
36% VP of Marketing, Marketing Communications, Marketing Operations 29% Director of Marketing, Marketing Communications,
Marketing Operations
9% Marketing Manager 2% VP of Customer Experience 1% Other (please specify) 0% CMO 0% VP of Customer Service 0% Director of Customer Experience 0% Director of Customer Service
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expert Perspectives
Whats Critical For Bank Marketers: The Time is Right To Activate Advocacy and Loyalty
By lee Gallagher, Director Precision Marketing and Sales, InfoPrint Solutions Company
In recent years, the Australian Big Four Banks have been under deep scrutiny by the sophisticated Australian consumers, critics and government officials. Many believe that the closed competition has hindered the banks commitment to invests in building trusted customer relationships, improving customer service, and word of mouth advocacy within the Australian market. In this research report, Whats Critical In The Banking Vertical Australia Commercial Banking, only 44 percent view their existing bank as a trusted advisor. To add to this, nine percent considered their bank as Cold and Faceless as well as Dinosaurs and Relics. Why all the contention? The audit revealed that consumers are tired of the high costs, and hidden fees, billing errors, and the additional service charges that tend to accompany both. Additionally, according to the poll, the customer banking experience is severely lacking. A surprising 23 percent said they regularly receive poor customer service and a disturbing 16 percent have been on the receiving end of Rude behavior from bank employees. Given this insight, it is not a surprise that the Australian banking customer is defecting at a churn rate of 12 percent a year. Customers are in search of lower rates, more online options, transparency, improved services, and reduced fees. The churn rate will continue to grow unless the current marketing strategies begin to focus less on products and more on the customer experience. Top marketing priorities for the year included: gaining deeper customer understanding of their customers and their expectation, driving relevant communications, and offering more on line services; yet improving the overall customer experience with the bank and brand was a lesser priority. Only six percent of marketers were going to provide more personalized, targeted engagements and experiences, while one percent of the marketers were concerned about word of mouth and customer advocacy programs. In these times of social media immersion, that blind eye may soon turn to a major trip up in their 2011 marketing strategies. The audit uncovered that 88 percent of marketers believe that better access to real-time data and analytics would be the best solution to improve visibility into customer retention, profitability and lifetime value. But only 27 percent of marketers reported investment in data analytics to better segment and target key customers. Those that invested in analytics were able to report a 100 percent improvement in customer segmentation in order to better execute targeted communications. In this new era of customer power, banks can create relevance and revenues by focusing on their customer. The research indicated that when banking competition heightened, 51 percent increased marketing and advertising spend to drive improved brand awareness. The Australian banking marketer may consider a lesser focus on branding and more on bonding. While branding tends to be more of a shout at the consumer from a billboard or television to praise their own products, the smart marketer will level the playing field by creating strategies and campaign that enable key customer conversations about future needs, concerns, and goals. These marketers will then be in a position to then show how their offerings or products satisfy those needs. The good news is the Australian banking marketer clearly understands the need to improve services, retention, and loyalty and they have the data at their fingertip to begin their journey. Over 32 percent of
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consumers indicated they have conducted business with the same bank for 5-10 years. These long standing relationships provide voluminous amounts of information that will provide necessary insight to deliver improved relevance and garner a deeper understanding of their customer needs, wants, andexpectations. We are strong believers that data can drive relevance, and relevance creates loyalty and advocacy. Data enables valuable customer insight that can create a unified, single view of the customer, allowing marketers to create relevant marketing campaigns and strategies tailored to the customers needs. With the right insight, the bank will be able to predict needs with more accuracy such as what product to cross or up sell - cutting through the noise and delivering targeted, relevant communications that benefit both the consumer and the bank. For example, the audit indicated that 81 percent of the consumers were doing business with at least two banks. This means that both banks missed an opportunity to build additional business. For some reason, the customers determined that their requirements may have been unmet by their first, primary bank, driving them to seek business with a second bank that would better suit their needs. Data analytics can help predict what products in checking, savings, credit card, loans and insurance portfolios should be offered to which customers to achieve greatest wallet share. The data now becomes the foundation of relevant, multi-channel campaigns that resonate and encourage the propensity to convert and grow loyalty. Customer loyalty and retention is paramount in the Australian banking. As new and existing market entrants will precisely target the Big Four customer base by offering lower costs products, mobile capabilities, and premium customer service, disrupting the ten year customer base that the current market enjoys. The existing banks do have an advantage they have the data, the customers, existing relationships and the ability to begin growing loyalty and advocacy now.
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innovate with Precision Marketing As the CMO Council suggests in their Marketing Perspective address, the delivery of relevance to the customer in meeting their needs will activate a level of advocacy and loyalty with customers beyond satisfaction helping to retain and acquire new business. A further challenge in targeting relevant messages to customers is that marketers need to know how to deliver the message. With many options beyond just print these days, such as online or mobile, messages need to not only be relevant, but to also be easily managed from a multichannel central production platform for timely and effective distribution. The only way to achieve that is by effectively mining the customer data that banks hold. The discipline of Precision Marketing talks to the heart of marketers as it focuses on what a bank knows from the data of a customer (not what is available) and then uses that to drive personalised, relevant messages to improve response demonstrating to customers that the bank is in tune with what it is they value most.
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about Computershare
Computershare
Computershare (ASX: CPU) is a global market leader in transfer agency and share registration, employee equity plans, proxy solicitation and stakeholder communications. The Company also specialises in corporate trust services, tax voucher solutions, bankruptcy administration and a range of other diversified financial and governance services. Founded in 1978, Computershare is renowned for its expertise in data management, high volume transaction processing, payments and stakeholder engagement. Many of the worlds leading organisations use these core competencies to help maximise the value of relationships with their investors, employees, creditors, members and customers. Computershare is represented in all major financial markets and has over 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.computershare.com. about Computershare Communication services (a division of Computershare) Computershare Communication Services is a leading global outsource technology provider of business process automation and multi-channel communication solutions. The worlds leading organisations depend on Computershare to help them capture, organise and publish business critical documents and payments freeing them up to focus on what is most important about their communications - the content. Computershare is a behind the scenes organisation, yet play a pivotal role in managing and delivering services for clients, of which there are over 10,000 globally. As a business-to-business company, Computershare focuses on responding to the needs of clients. To do that efficiently Computershare relies on outstanding people, trusted technology and a robust global structure to assist clients in responding to everyday activities. For more information, visit www.computershare.com.
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