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5 Ways to Improve Customer Loyalty With the Banking Guest Experience

Bank customer loyalty frequently hinges on the complete guest experience provided by banks and credit unions.

Just like with many other industries, today’s banking customers have higher customer service expectations than in the past and since the onset of the pandemic.

“Gone are those days when people used to stay longer with their bank than their life partner,” according to financial institution technology provider Zuci. “Today we shop where we trust and feel valued. We, as a customer, are willing to pay for exceptional service and a good experience. And the same goes with our banking service providers.”

The guest experience is top of mind for banking customers, and banks and credit unions who realize this provide ways to make that experience accessible and enjoyable for their customers.

“Customers no longer view their experiences in an industry-silo,” according to customer service and customer engagement platform REVE Chat. “They expect that banks should focus on creating an experience culture that nurtures their needs, builds trust, personalizes and exceeds their expectations.”

Read on for five ways your bank or credit union can provide customers with a better guest experience.

Provide customer service consistency

“A good customer experience is a single view of your customers across channels,” according to Zuci. “You provide the same level of customer service, along with the same experience, whether that‘s in-branch, on the phone, or online.

“Monitor customer touchpoints across your branches, call centers, ATMs and online banking system – while providing personalization at every step of their journey.”

Provide personalized end-to-end customer journeys

Each bank customer has different preferences and expectations.

“As a bank, you need to deliver the best strategies for building a personalized banking experience,”says Zuci. “The only way to do this is by understanding your customers’ journey.

“To do this effectively, you need to monitor customer touchpoints across your branches, call centers, ATMs, and online banking system – while providing personalization at every step of their journey.

Zuci offers these tips for monitoring customer end-to-end journeys:

  • Regularly review your bank’s digital channels
  • Pay attention to both positive and negative customer feedback
  • Focus on customer needs
  • Use data to compare your customer experience performance against industry benchmarks
  • Use data insights to find opportunities to improve your customer experience
  • Work with internal stakeholders to make the improvements you’ve identified
  • Measure the impact of those improvements

Offer digitized/mobile banking

Banks and financial institutions must provide user-friendly digital platforms that are simple access across multiple devices, especially smartphones, since 15 percent of banking customers are mobile-dominant, says REVE Chat. And nearly half (49 percent) of customers say access to instant support bolsters their loyalty.

“Usually, customers look for a wide range of features, high quality banking experience, and an easy way to connect directly,” according to REVE Chat. “When customers need ‘real time’ help, they actually mean it. Banks can provide real time support by using live assistance tools like co-browsing & video chat and scale their support with chatbots.”

Personalized services

Bank customers want personalized services, particularly loyalty and cash-back rewards, and saving and investing recommendations from their bank, according to “Humanizing the Bank Customer Experience 2022,” a report from American Banker and marketing agency Monigle:

“Young customers are particularly interested in insights into how major purchases affect their cash flow and advice on saving money. Credit unions tend to beat retail banks with personalization and challenger banks are catching up.”

Privacy and data security

“Data security has always been the most important thing in banking and financial services,” says REVE Chat. “Customers want to feel secure in sharing all the information and data with the bank. Banks should be able to build trust to withstand a healthy relationship with customers.”