Up Close and Personal: How Banks Can Use Digital Channels to Drive Growth

As banks shift their attention from cost-cutting to growth, they are looking for new ways to generate revenue. In developed markets, where expanding the customer base is difficult and expensive, growth will depend on the organization’s ability to serve existing customers better and more cost effectively.

For many banks, that means reevaluating the types of services they offer, the delivery channels they use and the core banking systems that support those processes.

Accenture research suggests that the relationship between bank and consumer has changed significantly in recent years.

Rapid advances in technology have raised consumer expectations. Today’s digital consumers are less trusting, more willing to shop around and more likely to purchase different products and services from a variety of vendors. They expect consistent, personalized service across multiple distribution channels—what they need, when and where they want it.

The challenge for banks is twofold. Not only do they need to anticipate the demands of individual clients, they must be able to deliver these customized services cost effectively.

A number of banks have already begun responding to the changing consumer landscape, developing new services and interacting with customers in new ways, including Facebook and Twitter. In many cases, these tentative steps have revealed siloed processes and legacy systems within the organization.

To be successful and sustainable, the introduction of new delivery mechanisms and improvements to existing channels must be part of a broader strategy that considers core banking architecture. Integrating customer data and service across the organization is the only way to provide the customized service consumers are seeking—without breaking the bank.

Faced with limited growth opportunities in developed markets and rising consumer expectations, banks are looking for new and cost-effective ways to serve existing clients better.

This Accenture point of view explains why now might be the time to consider:

• Personalizing customers’ experiences to suit their specific needs.

• Harnessing the power of the crowd with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

• Integrating service delivery across channels, from physical branches to smartphones.

• Rethinking the role of physical branches and redefining how they operate.

• Exploring popular new technologies such as virtualization.