Ron is dead on here. First comes business strategy, then comes channel strategy. He quotes the perfect opposites in that regard, Edward Jones, and ING. … … it’s because many banks don’t have a coherent business strategy. Not because they don’t have a channel strategy. Source: MarketingROI Banks are all chasing online banking superiority, in a no-win arms race situation. No one will ever win an arms race. In fact everyone participating will actually lose. When I wrote the other day about ‘niching’ [pardon the new verb] I didn’t explain arms race in a banking context. The arms race was … Continue reading First get the strategy figured out …..

This article courtesy of Finextra, will have branch advocates cheering. Yet the background is not that rosy. The majority of customers still prefer to do their banking and buy financial products at branches because of poor performance of Internet and telephone channels, according to a global retail banking study conducted by management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Customers prefer branches because they cannot get good service, or worse avoid bad service, unless they insist on a personal experience with someone who knows them. This is a hindrance to both customers expectations, and Banks desire to further automate. But the study … Continue reading Customers often prefer branches, but for the wrong reasons

After talking about niches as a means to both understand and exceed customer expectations for Banks, here is an example from a previous industry leader. Hat tip Netbanker. I first met Chip Mahan in 1995 when he was at the helm of Cardinal Bancshares and about to launch the first Internet-only bank in the world, Security First Network Bank. That effort eventually spawned S1 Corporation, now a leading banking tech company, with a half-billion market cap. Chip is now setting up new Bank, Live Oak Banking Company, and expects to have a charter in 6 months. The plan is to … Continue reading Ex S1 CEO moves ahead with Live Oak Banking Company

Every Bank says it focusses on customers. I found this article fascinating because it sounds so typical. They have an internal target for loyalty, yet their tactics are failing. In its internal ratings, the bank strives for customers who rate their satisfaction a 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale — most recently about 52 percent companywide. The bank won’t divulge its goal. In the push for No. 1, Morais said the bank will look at other surveys such as the Michigan index. To boost scores, Bank of America has a number of initiatives under way, Morais said. Last week, … Continue reading Bank of America focus on customer is disturbed by growth, or is it something else?

There is a fairly new blog, run by Alex and the team at Arvetica, out of Geneva. I met Alex and some the team while at LIFT. Some good thinking going on there, and in particular the stuff on differentiation, and innovation. Our aim is to help Swiss and global private bankers and wealth managers find new inspiration and fresh ideas. We will publish industry trends, analyze innovative business models, issue various surveys and give thought leaders a unique platform. The blog shall become the reference point for the private banking and wealth management community by aggregating best practices, reports, … Continue reading Private Banking Innovation – a new blog

I enjoy James’ posts. He doesn’t post often, and when he does I frequently find myself being challenged. Anyhow this thread originated here, a few weeks ago, and re-emerged here. The topic highlighted was the potential to reduce customer expectations in order to make them easier to exceed (I paraphrase). The example provided was Ryan Air, who provide a basic service, a flight, and everything else is extra. However the overall price remains cheap, while the service turns out not feel cheap. James compares this matter to the arms race that Banks find themselves participating in, just to keep their … Continue reading Niching, as a way to break out of the Banking “arms race”

Interesting dichotomy outlined in this Star story, which has a different and more complete version in the paper version somehow. Beginning Nov. 1, more than 800 TD Canada Trust branches will open Monday to Saturday at 8:00 a.m. providing at least 62 hours of financial services to customers. In addition, more than 900 branches will stay open till 4 p.m. every Saturday. Source: The Star The paper version goes on to compare this TD approach to BMO and Scotiabank, both of whom are using loyalty plans (Airmiles, and movie points respectively) to retain customers. These are measures that will have … Continue reading Canadian Banks fight for customer loyalty

My sense is that eMarketer is wrong in this conclusion, and reflects how we thought about things 10 years ago. For example, the way this survey is articulated does not take into account the reality of people with a laptop while in front of the TV. This is more prevalent than many might think. During that period, what is the answer as to the “what are you doing” question. There is no binary answer to that question. And yes it is a zero sum game. Last time I checked, we all have 24 hours in the day. This is not … Continue reading eMarketer survey displaying 1997 thinking

The environment is clearly becoming highly popular amongst politicians and business, and some great and innovative approaches are being seen. But when I read this announcement today, some of the quotes struck me as self serving, and potentially not as altruistic as they sound. We’ll be doing a much greater due diligence in terms of loans that we’re making and business that we’re doing in terms of the environmental risk that’s involved. Source: Toronto Star So I can just imagine the new tick sheet being circulated to all commercial lenders across the country to assess new loans from a green … Continue reading TD Bank announces environmental framework but leaves unanswered questions

This report leapt of the screen at me! First their mandate: The Group was asked by the Commission to cover three scenarios of customer mobility: (1) “national switching”: switching from one bank to another within the same Member State; (2) “cross-border switching”: switching from a bank in one Member State to a bank in another Member State; (3) “cross-border opening”: opening of a bank account in another Member State, with or without physical presence. The comments start to read very much as regulations for the telecommunications companies. The consultation follows the publication of a report compiled by an ‘expert group … Continue reading EC consults on obstacles that customers face when switching bank accounts | Account Number portability as a catalyst for change