Customer experience (a.k.a., CX) is a core focus among banks and financial firms alike these days. 

Historically, CX was all about reporting – as long as a company was getting the data to the end user, it didn’t really matter how it got there. It may not have been pretty, but it got the job done of moving information from point A (banks) to point B (customers).

It’s become a bit of a cliche in the financial realm, but Amazon and Netflix truly raised the bar for what end users expect when it comes to accessing their accounts and information. Today, people expect their online experience to be highly transparent, fully personalized and totally accessible 24/7 – and they expect it to be pretty.

That’s even more apparent for the next generation. Sure, the current crop of customers may be okay with a hybrid experience that straddles the analog and digital realms, but when the Great Wealth Transfer occurs, banks will be dealing with that generation’s children (and grandchildren). The idea of putting a physical pen to physical paper will seem more and more like an antiquated novelty to them.

For that reason, it is increasingly important for banks to find a tech partner who understands the importance of a fully digital CX. Today, we want to look at how you can find the right partner who can help you stay ahead of the expectations of a next-gen CX.

3 Steps to Finding a CX-first Tech Partner

1. Identify what you want to accomplish with your CX

What do you hope to accomplish with your CX? Building a new digital experience can be a big undertaking, and putting clear goals in place from the beginning can help ensure that your team remains focused.

Consider your possible goals: Are you trying to grow? Gather more clients? Capture what’s in your own four walls? Improve efficiency? Reduce costs?

Look at your entire customer journey from first to last touch. Where are there gaps? What areas do you hear the most complaints/compliments about from your users and employees? 

Some of our customers came to us with 15+ different experiences their customers choose from when they click the “Log In” button at the top right of the website. Want your business account? Go over here. Personal? Back this way. Consumer? That’s next door.

These banks realized that by sending their customers to multiple different websites for different accounts, they were letting other companies control their CX. 

This goes back to the old-school approach to CX we mentioned earlier: Pure delivery, no design. As long as the data is getting to the customers, then that’s all that matters. 

Consider this for a minute: As a bank, you want your customers focused on the services you provide. But every time you send your customers to another service provider (be it accounting, business, etc.) that provider wants your customer focused on the service they provide. Unfortunately, this is the case with many smaller and regional banks today. 

Download: See how AMG National Trust Bank overhauled their CX with the help of Wealth Access

2. Look beyond the customer experience to your team’s experience

One of the keys to a great CX is making sure that your internal team has a great experience on their end, too. 

What makes a great back-end experience for your team? That’s a big question, but here are two big ones that we see a lot of banks missing these days. 

Unified Data

If your team has to jump from silo to silo to gather the information they need, then no one wins. Your team is frustrated and your customers aren’t getting an optimal experience.

Personalized Views

A variety of people in a variety of positions need to interact with customer data at any given time. By setting up personalized dashboards that provide roles-based experiences for everyone from business bankers to executives, you can make sure your people have access to the data they need, making them more efficient and more effective.

When considering your team’s experience, consider the following questions: How can you streamline everyone’s jobs better? Can your systems be more unified than they currently are? How can you handle customer data more efficiently?

3. Find a tech partner who understands your industry and your needs

There is an abundance of tech companies out there that specialize in CX design. While I haven’t talked to all of them, I imagine most are pretty good at what they do. 

But when it comes to designing a customer experience for financial institutions, you need a partner who has a broad, deep understanding of what customers experience at banks. 

It takes more than great designers and developers to create a product your customers and team will love. It takes a team that knows what customers and employees in your industry love.

Download: Find out how Fulton Bank is brining data to life for their customers in new ways

Let’s Talk About Your Bank’s CX

Want to learn more about how our team could help you build a CX that your customers and employees love? Click here to schedule a demo today.