The bank of the future is likely to look very different than it does today. Smaller in real estate but larger in terms of distribution, future banks will be digital-first, quick to innovate, and laser focused on customer needs. As they compete with new-age digital disruptors, banks will leverage data and analytics to craft simpler, better, and more hyper-personalised customer journeys. The end goal? To be the bank that customers love
HT Brand Studio and Salesforce recently talked through some of these ideas at a virtual panel discussion, titled “Getting ahead of disruption: How can customer intimacy help banks win over innovators and challengers?” Moderated by Roudra Bhattacharya, Head, HT Brand Studio, the session featured Vikrant Chowdhary, Vice President, FinServ, Salesforce India and Kiran Kumar Kesavarapu, Senior Director, Solution Engineering, Salesforce India.
Here are some edited excerpts from their conversation:
How can banks become more customer centric – is it just about tech or do mindsets also matter?
KK: Mindsets are very important. At Salesforce, we believe there are three mindsets that cater to different customer service aspirations. The first is what we call ‘Renovate’. This is a very tactical mindset that focuses on short-term outcomes and single project implementations without enterprise-wide alignment. For instance, a bank might develop a new relationship manager portal with no plan of reusing it in other channels or teams.
The second mindset is called ‘Evolve’. This is where a bank looks at long-term business transformation when they roll out a digital capability. They want to build a truly customer-centric business through connected services, channels, and experiences. As an example, a bank might roll out an enterprise-wide ‘banker’s desktop’ that provides a shared customer view.
The third mindset—Transcend—is more aspirational. It goes beyond connected services to focus on how banking can be seamlessly embedded into a customer’s life and journeys. Think of a bank extending its current loan process to orchestrate the entire car-buying experience for a customer.
Ultimately, the type of mindset that a bank has will determine the kind of technology they adopt. The ‘Transcend’ mindset is particularly exciting because it gets us to a platform kind of business model.
VC: You’ll also notice that as banks evolve from the ‘Renovate’ to ‘Transcend’ mindset, they become more innovative and transformation-focused.
What approach should banks take as they reimagine customer engagement?
VC: Here’s what some of our most successful customers are doing. First, they’re shifting their approach from product-centric to customer-centric. They’re restructuring their organisations, products, and services to cater to customers at a ‘segment of one’ level.
Second, these banks are adopting a crawl-walk-run strategy. They’re starting with the use case that can deliver the fastest impact, and then gradually moving up to a platform-based approach.
Third, successful customers are transforming the current crisis into an opportunity. They’ve realised that remote work is here to stay, and they’re pushing the pedal hard on digital transformation. They’re also leveraging service as the new sales—not just through call centres or bank branches, but through omnichannel digital service and virtual relationship managers.
As more banks go digital, how important will the human touch be?
KK: Digital and self-service transactions will grow exponentially. Meanwhile, bank branches will be miniaturised because relationship managers don’t need to sit there anymore. They can provide the same level of customer service from home.
But the human touch won’t go away. Customers expect a certain level of comfort and trust that comes only with human interactions. That being said, the medium through which those interactions are conducted will move from physical branches to virtual channels. We will see a hybrid model develop—one that marries digital with face-to-face communication.
What have the younger players in the fintech and digital payments space gotten right?
VC: These startups are keenly tuned into the customer’s need, and their entire product is built around that. They also start from ground zero with a fresh, beginner’s mindset which gives them an advantage. And their DNA is different—unlike larger banks which are more service-focused, fintech startups are more engineering-focused. Now you’ll find most disruptive banks adopting that posture, and turning themselves into customer-centric engineering companies.
To find out more, watch the entire conversation here.
