MAIN INSIGHT 52
Mario Moreira
DIRECTOR - DIGITAL SALES & SERVICES
What impact did the global pandemic have on digital transformation in the banking industry?
It’s no secret that the global pandemic forced companies of all industries and sizes to go through a process of digital transformation. With physical meetings no longer an option, the first six months of the pandemic saw mass adoption of video conferencing, online onboarding and other digital tools that still allowed businesses to connect with customers. Banking was no exception to this. Changes in banking normally take a number of years due to compliance adherence and the fact that they are very large organisations. But the pandemic created a need to implement new digital technologies in a matter of months.
But as we continue to emerge from the pandemic and many businesses continue to hold a digital mindset, we’re starting to see a shift in thinking adopted by many in the banking industry. Banks have seen first hand the benefit of working in an agile way and are now applying their learnings from the pandemic moving forward. For example, banks built solutions for specific problems posed by the pandemic, but didn’t adequately think about the context of the real state of technology within their organisations or how their solutions adhered to industry compliance. This means that many organisations are having to reevaluate their solutions in the post-pandemic world and even start from scratch again in some cases. But overall the pandemic has not only enhanced the desire to adopt digital technologies within banking, it has also taught the industry about the value and implications of agile working.
How can businesses successfully adopt new technologies?
To successfully implement new technologies into sales and marketing processes organisations need to think in a customer-centric way, assessing journey by journey what technologies are needed for customers to self-serve and facilitate engagement between the customer and business. When organisations think about their technology stack as an ecosystem, they are in a position to provide consistent customer touchpoints regardless of which channel the customer chooses to engage through. Adopting new technologies doesn’t always mean creating new processes though. If you have an existing process that works well within your organisation, can it be adapted into a digital one that better serves your customers’ needs? Finally, it’s very important to remember that if a customer cannot find the information they need or complete a process through an automated or digital process, then they will want to speak with a human being - make sure that they can easily speak with a human when needed or you risk losing that customer.
It’s very important to remember that if a customer cannot find the information they need or complete a process through an automated or digital process, then they will want to speak with a human being - make sure that they can easily speak with a human when needed or you risk losing that customer.
If an organisation can successfully empower their employees to focus on customer pain points without being weighed down by manual, repetitive tasks then they will find themselves in a more competitive position in their market.
Is technology replacing the need for humans in sales and marketing?
Successful organisations are made by successful people, no technology will ever change that. Across the traditional sales cycle from initial marketing all the way through to order fulfilment, there is always a need for human understanding of your customer’s pain points. Where automated technologies are proving hugely valuable already is in the removal of manual, repetitive tasks that occur throughout a sales process. By reducing the number of manual tasks that sales and marketing teams need to complete, they have more time to focus on speaking with customers and creating relevant content that directly addresses their pain points. As we spoke about before though, it is important to consider any technology deployed as part of an overall ecosystem and not as a single-point solution.
If an organisation can successfully empower their employees to focus on customer pain points without being weighed down by manual, repetitive tasks then they will find themselves in a more competitive position in their market. Understanding of customer pain points is achieved through a combination of actually speaking with customers, but also tracking relevant data throughout their sales journey. For example, what content do customers from different industries interact most with on your website? By creating a deep understanding of customer pain points and demonstrating empathy for them, organisations will position themselves as trustworthy and valuable in the market, ultimately helping them to win and retain more customers.
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