Maintaining strong customer relationships is paramount, but meeting evolving and complex customer expectations has become increasingly challenging. In today’s landscape, financial institutions are no longer solely evaluated against their industry peers but rather against the customer experience observed across all facets of an individual’s life. Customers expect their financial services provider to have up-to-date and accurate information from their financial institutions and provide personalized and reliable service.
Customer data can make or break the relationship customers have with their financial institutions
Yet, too often, when customers interact with their primary financial services provider, they have underwhelming, disconnected experiences due to inconsistent, incomplete, or inaccurate data points being communicated back to them. Those interactions prove detrimental as they demonstrate a lack of understanding of the current relationship and erode trust in the financial institution.
The most common obstacles to meeting evolving customer expectations and leading to dissatisfaction
Financial institutions rely heavily on customer data to foster deeper connections, so the accuracy and delivery of this information are of utmost importance. However, an intriguing discrepancy often emerges despite the importance of reliable customer data, compelling financial institutions to examine the three most common obstacles impeding their success and failing to meet customers’ evolving expectations, leaving them feeling disappointed and detached.
Data silos due to disparate systems
Data silos occur when data is stored across multiple systems in different departments, resulting in a fragmented view of the customer and inconsistencies. This fragmentation makes it difficult to obtain a comprehensive understanding of customer deposit relationships.
As a result, incomplete customer profiles and a disconnected customer experience emerge. Without a consolidated view of customer interactions, preferences, and needs, institutions struggle to deliver seamless and personally tailored experiences. A unified 360 profile is crucial to a financial service provider’s data strategy and understanding of customer deposit relationships, behavior, and preferences.
Lack of householding
When financial institutions fail to practice householding, they view each account separately, disregarding the broader context of a customer’s financial picture. This absence of a holistic view can lead to inadequate advice or ill-informed decisions, as the institution fails to comprehend the complete scope of a customer’s relationships within their household.
By not considering the interconnectedness of accounts and individuals, financial institutions risk providing subpar services that do not cater to the unique needs and dynamics of the customer’s entire household.
Outdated or disorganized customer data
Financial institutions handle a vast amount of customer data, often encountering the issues of data becoming quickly outdated or in need of arduous and manual updating. Additionally, due to the large volume they deal with, the likelihood that this data is also disorganized and scattered is exacerbated. This can lead to difficulty with seamless information sharing and collaboration between teams, as ineffective communication channels and inadequate coordination become more commonplace.
How to overcome those obstacles and unify customer data
To effectively tackle the above issues, it can be beneficial to prioritize the creation of a unified 360 customer profile before addressing householding and disorganized customer data. The unified customer data can be used in subsequent processes, minimizing the risk of propagating errors or inconsistencies throughout the organization’s data system.
This approach helps mitigate the compounding effects of the current data challenges and ensures a solid foundation for accurate data analysis and decision-making. Furthermore, the customer 360 profile presents substantial customer outreach and relationship management advantages, such as:
Segmentation
With a complete and accurate understanding of a customer’s deposit relationships, institutions can segment their customer base more effectively — even bringing that segmentation down to a market of one. Segmentation allows for targeted marketing campaigns, tailored product offerings, and personalized services that cater to each customer segment’s specific needs and preferences.
Reliable, accurate data
With enhanced data accuracy and reliability, financial institutions can have confidence in their information. This trust in data strengthens relationships, fosters customer loyalty, and establishes the institution as a reliable and knowledgeable partner.
Opportunities to deepen deposit relationships
Armed with comprehensive customer profiles, financial institutions can identify opportunities to deepen deposit relationships. By analyzing customer behavior, transaction patterns, and financial goals, institutions can design strategies to enhance customer engagement, increase cross-selling opportunities, and improve overall customer satisfaction.
Unify customer data with Salesforce Data Cloud and the right strategic partner
Unlocking the full potential of data-driven benefits used to be a daunting task, but with the evolution of the customer data platform (CDP) with Salesforce Data Cloud, it has become much easier. Salesforce Data Cloud is a robust platform that empowers businesses to conquer these challenges and harness the advantages of data-driven strategies. Organizations can gain profound customer insights by seamlessly integrating various data sources, enabling them to craft personalized marketing campaigns and enhance sales and customer service. Salesforce’s partner ecosystem and exchange capabilities expand data accessibility, further enabling informed decision-making.
By directly surfacing these data insights in the CRM or leveraging tools like CRM Analytics and Tableau, you can empower your bankers to act swiftly by placing relevant data at their fingertips.
In the competitive financial services landscape, understanding your customers’ deposit relationships is vital for building trust, providing personalized experiences, and fostering growth. Financial institutions can gain a comprehensive understanding of customers’ deposit relationships by addressing the common causes of incomplete customer profiles — lack of householding, disparate data systems, and the absence of a customer 360 or a unified customer profile. This understanding empowers institutions to segment their customer base, trust their data, and deploy strategies that deepen deposit relationships. Unifying customer data is a crucial step toward growth, enabling financial institutions to thrive and achieve long-term success in the industry and grow deposits.
Reach out and let’s discuss how Atrium can help unify your customer data and achieve your goals.
