4 Customer Service Trends That Shape Today’s Banking Guest Experience

These top customer service trends make banking more convenient and up-to-date for loyal and new bank customers alike.

Customer service in banking is the “new marketing battlefront” among financial institutions and other companies, according to a customer experience (CX) marketing survey from industry insight and business guidance company Gartner.

“More than two-thirds of marketers responsible for CX say their companies compete mostly on the basis of CX,” according to the survey. “And in two years’ time, 81 percent say they expect to be competing mostly or completely on the basis of CX.”

Overall, banking customers tend to stick with their primary bank for years, according to “Humanizing the Bank Customer Experience 2022,” a report from American Banker and marketing and advertising agency Monigle. While that loyalty trend bodes well for banks, there’s no guarantee that banking customers will stick around no matter what, according to the report.

“Many financial institutions are eager to attract younger generations of customers, but this segment is also the most likely to shop around for financial services that meet their needs,” says the report. “Challenger banks and fintechs such as PayPal are stepping up with bank-like features. Prominent technology firms such as Apple and Google are gradually doing the same.

“None of these options offer a complete alternative to traditional banks and credit unions, but the potential for them to siphon off customers, at least for some services, is there.”

To build brand loyalty, retain current customers and attract new banking customers, your bank must pay attention to current banking trends and offer customers the services that matter the most to them.

Here are the top banking trends to watch that offer a better banking guest experience.

Mobile apps

Banking self-service is one of the fastest-growing banking customer experience trends, according to technology provider Hitachi Solutions.

“Thanks to mobility, customers now have the ability to fully access their bank’s resources from their mobile device anywhere they have Wi-Fi, turning what was once a distant dream into a basic expectation,” says Hitachi Solutions.

“In today’s market, mobile banking applications aren’t so much a nice-to-have as a need-to-have, and banks without this capability are at a severe disadvantage because customers have come to expect the unparalleled convenience of a mobile app.”

Improved branch offerings

With stiff competition from internet banks, brick-and-mortar branches need to up their game when it comes to what they offer banking customers.

“Some banks have experimented with a showroom-style design similar to that found in Apple Stores, with rows of smartphones and other mobile devices loaded up with their banking app on display, so customers can see the app in action,” says Hitachi Solutions. Other physical branches offer face-to-face customer education and training on banking technologies.

“Ideally, the branch of the future should offer both of these functionalities, as well as self-service options, community space, and advanced technology so that each customer can have a hyper-personalized banking experience that is specific to their unique needs,” says Hitachi.

Advising services

Many people turn to online research for investment advice but find the online information too broad to get what they need from it. “This gives banks the perfect opportunity to improve the financial services CX by pairing their customers with in-house financial advisors who can provide advice tailored to each customer’s needs,” says Hitachi Solutions.

Artificial intelligence

Bank call centers are often overwhelmed with high call volume and not enough customer service reps, resulting in long, frustrating hold times for customers. But artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots can improve the guest experience, pulling information from the bank’s knowledge base and customer profiles, says Hitachi Solutions:

“Should a particular request exceed the chatbot’s capabilities, it’s automatically escalated to a live service representative who can help the customer work toward a resolution.

“Banks and their customers both stand to gain from AI innovation: Customers no longer have to waste valuable time waiting to talk to a representative, while banks stand to save a substantial amount of resources that would otherwise be funneled to their call centers.”