egyii blog

How are the banks listening to the clients/customers today?

I have been reading blog articles by and speaking with some of the Forrester and Gartner (my former employer) analysts recently. Both companies are  research and analysis firms for the technology industry - and there is a lot of buzz around utilising technology to “listen” to the banking clients.

I am noticing two things:

The customer experience (or as we at Egyii call it “customer proficiency”) is the banks’ biggest concern.

How to address the voice of the customer?

Communities

As networks, the Internet and overall communications have evolved, the world’s voice has become global. And even though it has been global, communities have formed- both locally and globally.

Many of you are aware that traditionally communities have been formed and are a means of discussing issues and sharing ideas - as people in communities have a lot in common. The platforms could be through town hall meetings, mahjong games in HDB flats, tribe gatherings, Etc.

Today, communities can also be formed digitally and continue to be formed personally (face to face).

The Social Media Phenomenon

What is happening globally and locally? Digital communities are being formed using  social media.

Ning. Facebook. Twitter. Votigo. Linked In.

And it is just not youngsters or Gen Y.

The old folks (like me- Boomers) have the biggest, recent  uptake on Facebook.

And big and small companies are doing it , too.

So, what are companies doing to take advantage of the voice of the client today?  They are using social media to capture the voice and are making quick changes based on the clients’ immediate input and needs.  It is all very real time. A recent article in Advertising Age states “The Internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to get their opinions heard — and for marketers to listen.”

One example is Ford Motor. “Social media has helped Ford quickly achieve its goal of being a top social brand and has broken down the more conservative communications processes that were in place,” said Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford.

On a Local Level – Singapore

A recent report showed that Internet users in Singapore spent 50% of their time on social media (community) sites. Wow! How to capture their attention?

In Singapore, we are well connected and very savvy. We use communities (whether you realise it or not) to voice our opinions. Everyone is listening.

The Banking Environment

Are banking clients talking, forming communities?

You bet they are. On line and and personally (in places like kopitiams – local coffee shops, Etc). They are sharing the stories. The heartbreaks. The downfalls. The successes!

In banking, the trend to move digitally has been slow.

Because some banks are slow in the uptake of using technology to listen to the client, personal (face to face) communities or sessions can be formed to fill the gaps. Until they are” up to par” digitally, banks need more proactive events or sessions where the client is comfortable in expressing his opinion. One suggestion is a simple  face to face, one on one “community” with the client (make sure the client is comfortable). Nothing beats that.

But don’t wait to long. The clients want a digital community in banking. They want to voice their opinion. It will happen.

So, how will you build your bank’s community so that you can hear the real voice of your banking clients today? Banks need to be more sensitive to the voice of the client. If it is not done digitally, find some old world ways of doing it.

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

Web 2.0. Social networks. Twitter. Facebook. Mash ups. Wikis. Social feeds. Widgets. Blah, blah, blah…

Huh?

These are all a new language to the “digital foreigner” (those of us born before 1980) and Generation X and above. But for the “digital native” (born after 1980) and much of Generation Y, they talk about this in their sleep. Add to this iPods, personal communicators and mobile phones that we are all so familiar with and you have new means of communicating and learning.  It is amazing the changes technology has and will affect the world.

So what is all of this driving? It is driving a fast paced, information hungry society that wants variety, “everything now” with a very limited attention span. It may also be driving a different way of learning for the “Digital Learner.”

In a recent study “Living and Learning with New Media” by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, November 2008, the following was discovered: “New media allows for a degree of freedom and autonomy for people today that is less apparent in a classroom setting. People today respect one another’s authority online, and they are often more motivated to learn from peers than from elders or leaders. Their efforts are also largely self-directed, and the outcome emerges through exploration, in contrast to classroom learning that is oriented toward set, predefined goals.”

So how should learning be addressed? First let us describe learning platforms. “Formal learning’ is classroom. “Informal learning” is peers, friends, family, on the job. Together it gives you Workplace Integration learning. Workplace integration means you cannot separate training from work as you should constantly be learning. So the combination of the two is integral.

What needs to be done is to utilise the new technology platforms and social trends (Web 2.0, social networks) with effective learning platforms (Workplace Integration). How? Short and sharp programs (2-3 hours in length vs 8 hours) that can be done in a classroom environment (with peer interaction)supplemented by E learning (as E learning is difficult on its own), digital games (for FUN!) or on social platforms (peer to peer) and peer to peer interaction in the office and at home. This would cater to the attention span of the Digital Natives (and the Digital Foreigners who are bored with the same old programmes), would give them the ability to “learn in chunks,”would give themfun/new engaging environments (yes FUN!), and would allow them to learn from their “switched on” peers, too.

Now that is what I call TRUE blended learning!

Isn’t it time we started doing things differently? Isn’t it time for a change to adapt to the new world? The learning space needs a drastic overhaul to cater to the ”bored” learners and ot the new Digital Learners, who are today’s and tomorrow’s decisionmakers.

(For those of you interested, I suggest the book “Born Digital” by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser which explores the behaviours of digital natives in today’s society).

Trip Allen The Egyii Team