Personalize Solutions

To offer tailored financial solutions that address individual customer needs, banks and credit unions will need to recommend products and services, such as customized loan packages, personalized deposit recommendations, customer education on how to leverage electronic banking for safety and convenience, or personalized financial advice. However, this can only take place when you know your customers.

Sounds great, but how do we actually do this? Here are six steps most community FIs need to take right now to ensure you know your customers.

1. Make sure every customer-facing associate knows your products and services intimately. This includes features and benefits and how these services meet the needs of your customers.
2. Teach your associates how to profile your customers using simple questions that start a conversation focused on the customer’s financial needs and goals.
3. Capture important information in a CRM or your core banking platform so associates are able recall and use it to make recommendations.
4. Recommend solutions. Don’t make customers figure out how to navigate your products and services on their own.This is where you add value and build trust.
5. Set the expectation with your clients that you will follow up. Then follow up. But what if I don’t have access to a CRM? No excuses. Put a note in your calendar. Find a way to remind yourself to follow up. Make daily follow-up a habit.
6. Train leaders to practice and coach these behaviors. These are skills that take time to develop and hone. Coaching and practice is how you hone this skill.

These steps will help you earn the trust of your customers.

Focus on Employee Training and Development

Employees are the face of the organization, and their interactions with customers will make or break relationships. Community FIs are built on these relationships. Investing in your associate’s development is crucial for delivering an exceptional customer experience. In addition to the six items above, train your associates on active listening, empathy, and problem-solving to enhance customer interactions and to further build trust.

Adopt a Multi-Channel Approach.

Make sure your branch experiences are welcoming, efficient, and staffed with knowledgeable employees.

Provide reliable phone and online support to assist customers with their inquiries and transactions. Quick and efficient customer service creates customer satisfaction.

Find ways to ensure that all channels are integrated, allowing for a seamless transition between online, mobile, and in-branch interactions. Make it easy for a customer to start a transaction online and complete it in the branch without any hassle. Educate customers on using your channels as a standard practice.

Offer seamless support experience through your branch and/or call center teams for electronic channels to increase customer confidence and usage.

Seek Customer Feedback

Smart organizations value customer feedback. They regularly seek it and analyze it to improve their operations and customer interactions. Use customer feedback to improve your operations and focus training. Use information tracked over time to thank customers for helping you improve your operations. This type of recognition shows you care more about them than most organizations and will deepen their trust in your team.

Keep Customers Informed

Maintain consistent and meaningful communication with customers. Regular check-ins, newsletters, and personalized emails can keep customers informed and engaged.  Leverage social media and email to keep your customers informed of significant changes, events or outages on a local or global scale that may impact their access to services or funds. Send these messages as early as possible. Your customers will appreciate being the first to know.