Yes, customers are calling the tune. So, what can banks do to show they’re listening?

For a start, they must understand that customer convenience is a moving target. There was a time when a branch in the neighbourhood would suffice; with the arrival of the Internet, mobile and social channels, that definition of convenience has been rewritten many times over. Now, customers are looking for banking mobility, where the bank follows them wherever they go, and is available to them on a multitude of handhelds.

Next, banks must track customers’ life cycle events closely. Education, marriage, parenthood, retirement are the crossroads at which financial priorities change direction. At each stage, customers switch their roles of wealth creation and distribution and go from being savings positive to negative or vice versa; so how can the role of their bank remain static? Hence, a bank must look at itself as a savings repository, product planner, financier, advisor, wealth manager or trustee at different junctures.

Most important of all, is to create an emotional connect with customers. Research shows that when a brand or service fulfils consumer expectations through objective criteria like features or price, it creates a rationally satisfied customer – one who will continue to transact, but do little else. On the other hand, a product which goes beyond this to fulfil tacit needs, create a memorable experience or delight the customer in any other way finds a place within the heart of the consumer. Such an emotionally satisfied consumer will show appreciation by staying loyal to the brand and recommending it to others. Customer life cycle management and right selling help to build this connect.

Which of these does your bank practice, and what else?