Overcoming Challenges Facing Financial Services in 2023
Increase in Fraud and Scams
An increase in technology has made the lives of businesses and people much easier; however, it has also opened the door for new varieties of fraud attempts. While modern financial technology remains secure, scammers have gotten creative in their attempts to trick everyday banking customers, with a 41% increase in banking fraud incidents between 2021 and 2022. Staying on top of the latest types of scams and putting in place the proper procedures is essential, with 3 in 10 consumers saying they’d switch banks if they felt fraud incidents were handled poorly. Most notably, these become prevalent during the holiday season when financial activities hit an all-time high. Therefore, preparing to combat an influx of fraud attempts can go a long way in keeping the holidays a jolly time for customers.
Overcoming this Challenge:
- Increase education among team members surrounding common scams as they arise
- Stay vigilant regarding scams that may spike during certain times of the year
- Provide fraud prevention resources to customers regularly through your website email blasts, and social media posts
Enhanced Customer Experience and Competition
It’s no secret that the financial services and technology industries are growing. With major tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon entering the financial services market in different product areas and the average American having 5.3 bank accounts across financial institutions, keeping your current customers’ attention is more critical than ever. Providing enhanced customer service via online chat is a highly valued feature in today’s digital world, where an average of 89% of consumers use a mobile device to carry out banking operations. However, chatting online with a human service rep has a much higher satisfaction rate at 66% than an AI-powered chatbot, with only a 26% satisfaction rate among bank customers.
Overcoming this Challenge:
- Create a multi-touchpoint onboarding program to keep new customers’ attention on you by providing solutions that make managing finances easier with your financial institution
- Explore options for appointing human reps to manage chat services to differentiate from large organizations that may rely heavily on chatbots to provide customer service
The Omnichannel Transformation
Nowadays, nearly two-thirds, or 65.3% of the U.S. population, uses digital banking services, a statistic that has been growing for the past five to ten years. Traditional financial services companies that show resistance or generate slow progress in this area could become obsolete. On the other hand, transforming the digital aspects of their organizations has the potential to create an omnichannel system fit to the needs of the everyday customer in 2023, with 82% still believing that having a nearby branch is extremely or very important. Accomplishing this will help stay competitive amongst fintech companies by offering an array of convenient digital services and utilizing an already existing in-person service structure.
Overcoming this Challenge:
- Train team members to assist customers with both in-person and virtual services
- Create an easily personalized experience where customers can do everything they can in person (open accounts, apply for loans, etc.), digitally
Engaging a Digital Customer Base
Simply overcoming these challenges will never be enough without a vital communication channel to spread the latest promotions, developments, and resources offered at your financial institution. Engaging with a digital customer base is becoming increasingly difficult due to a large amount of noise online.
Overcoming this Challenge:
- Create more dynamic content, such as videos for your website and social media
- Put search engine marketing (to reach those actively searching specific products or services online) and social media advertising programs in place
- Devise a strategy to reach the next generation of customers (Gen Z) on their favorite social media channels, such as Snapchat and TikTok, and use new tactics, such as gamification and influencer marketing
- Work with a partner who is an expert in any new communication channels you are looking to utilize
Are you facing some of these challenges in 2023? Strategis is a full-service marketing agency developing strategies proven to increase the (ROI) through a wide range of methods for localized financial institutions. Contact us today!
