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Banking by AppointmentThe New Way Banks Drive Business Through Great Customer Experiences

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Banking by Appointment

In the face of an ever-changing customer landscape, banks are striving to find ways to drive more business from existing customers while generating an ongoing stream of new customers.

So how does a bank rekindle that personal connection and find ways to engage customers, luring them back to the branch? It’s clear that the old way of doing things isn’t working so, as technology has empowered customers to bank online, it’s time to leverage technology to “bring the branch back.”

It’s lunchtime. Most people have time to do banking at lunch—which explains the empty bowl of lollipops and the meandering line of impatient customers that zigzags throughout your branch. In line are the customers who need to do those every-day transactions like depositing a check, withdrawing, or inquiring about their checking account—low dollar value transactions that take time and consume your branch staff. In walk Jim and Sally First-time-homebuyer who also found time at lunch. But they have a request that you value more than a complaint on a checking account. They are looking for a mortgage and need to find someone knowledgeable that they can build a trusting relationship with to help them through the biggest purchase of their lives.

You know things get busy, so you staff your branch with extra heads on particular days. But, lo and behold, the branch traffic wasn’t what you expected. Instead, you’ve got an overflowing bowl of lollipops and a bunch of bank staff killing time by making origami swans out of post-it notes. Not quite the best practice for cost-conscious staffing.

With quotes like “the branch is dead” floating around, it’s vital for banks to begin thinking big, thinking different, and perhaps most important to gaining a competitive edge—thinking fast. The truth is, the high value transactions such as mortgages, loans, and credit accounts are the financial life-blood of a bank. And it’s no secret that the success of these transactions hinges on personal interaction. With online banking rapidly usurping the in-branch visit, it’s now more crucial than ever for banks to find ways to improve the in-branch customer experience by making branches more accessible, expanding opening hours, reducing wait times, and building that personal connection with customers that the web just can’t replicate.

The conundrum facing most banks the world over is that, even as their customers make less use of branches for everyday transactions, the banks have yet to find an equally good way of drawing in new customers and doing more lucrative business with existing ones. “Our goal is still to fill the branches with customers,” says Lukas Gähwiler, who runs the Swiss banking business of UBS. “Every conversation (in a branch) is a potential advice and sales opportunity.” So instead of doing away with branches, banks are trying to reinvent them.

~The Economist Special Report: International Banking

Consider Scenario #1 (You’ve been there)

Consider Scenario #2 (sound familiar?)

What happens? They see a corn-maze of frustrated people and a full waiting room. As soon as the door they just walked through is about to close, they’re back through it on their way to the next bank on their list.

Too bad. But it’s not your fault that people have busy lives and can’t block off enough time on their calendar to take care of their banking needs. Even if Jim and Sally did wait though, by the time they finally sat down with one of your mortgage specialists, would they be in a good mood with a positive outlook? You know the answer because you deal with it every day.



If high value transactions are essential to the success of a bank’s bottom line, and those transactions hinge on personal interactions, then the logical next step is finding a way to facilitate those interactions in a meaningful and predictable way. Technology can be your best friend in this course of action.

Technology is revolutionizing the ways in which banks interact and engage with their customers. By empowering consumers and businesses to use online technology as a facilitator to encourage in-branch visits, everybody wins. Customers can do things like chat, or book in-branch or phone appointments through bank websites, email campaigns and social media sites. By leveraging such technologies, retail financial service organizations greatly improve customer experiences, loyalty and revenue opportunities.

Let’s focus specifically on appointments and meetings. The fastest time-to-value when finding a solution to increase crossover from online to in-branch traffic comes from enabling customers to actually schedule their appointment ahead of time. This motivates “in market” customers—those who are seeking loans, credit and other high-value financial products right now—to schedule in-branch or phone appointments with banking representatives. It also provides you with higher visibility into your branch’s day to day operations and how you should staff, based on appointment volume. You’re more prepared and your customers and staff are happier.

“The banking center is becoming more and more a place not only for basic transactions, but for people to discuss complex issues.”

~Anne Pace Bank of America

“Wealthy customers are more demanding. They are less impressed with mobile banking and tend to look for premium service and tailored, expert advice through personal banking relationships, not just convenient digital channels.”

~American Banker

“Banks are aware of the increasing importance of channel interconnectivity from a customer experience perspective....The technology to improve interconnectivity between channels and provide customers with this better overall integrated experience already exists. Indeed, most banks do not see technology as a barrier but as an enabler. However, a key challenge facing banks is getting better use from existing technology and applying it where there is most customer benefit.”

~EFMA Banking Advisory Council

Who Says?

These benfits stem from the fact that online and mobile banking do not offer customers the security and in-person perspective for larger, high-value transactions. The chart below from Lookout Mobile Security shows that even with the exponential rise in mobile banking, the transactions that happen through these devices are not the complex, high-value transactions you should be worried about losing. Things like opening new accounts or initiating a loan still need to happen at a branch in the view of most customers. If this is true for all banks, it’s necessary to find a way to get that competitive edge so that it’s a branch from your bank that gets these new customers, and not someone else’s.



It’s simple to implement. Consumers and businesses respond to it. And banks are implementing it in growing numbers.

No More Waiting Around for Great ServiceCustomer expectations across multiple delivery channels have never been higher. According to Boston Consulting Group’s report: Customer-Centricity in Retail Banking, roughly 50% of customers choose to switch banks for customer-centric reasons. Similarly, Capgemini’s 2011 World Retail Banking Report found that approximately 65% of customers chose (and stayed) with their bank because of service quality and ease of doing business across channels.

With Banking by Appointment, customers can engage the bank at a time/date and method that is convenient for them. As a result, banks are able to build stronger relationships, enhance service quality, improve call center operations and optimize in-branch staffing.

Banking by Appointment helps banks: Create an Exceptional Customer Experience Streamline Multi-Channel Delivery Deepen Share of Wallet and Cross Sell Opportunities

Bank of Montreal books 1.5 Million In-Branch or Phone Appointments Annually:

“Customers are looking for easier and less time-consuming ways to bank, including added convenience and the option to self-manage based on their busy schedule. With more than half of our personal banking customers using online banking, BMO’s online appointment booking tool will make it easier for our customers to schedule one-on-one meetings with one of our financial professionals - which is an important step in successfully planning for and achieving financial goals.” ~Andrew Irvine, Senior Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal – BMO Press Release June 2012

The banks who are already taking web or mobile-sourced appointments have aptly dubbed the practice Banking by Appointment. It’s quickly gaining ground and has proven to be the ideal means in which to facilitate an in-person meeting for the mobile or web customer who has decided that the transaction warrants more than a few clicks or taps.



Personalized Banking Acquire and Retain Customers

Banks, credit unions and other retail financial services providers increasingly value the connection between strong customer experience and their bottom line. One-to-one appointments with customers, by phone or in-branch, provide banks the greatest means to deliver a uniquely personal banking service, build trust, and retain clients.

Customers respond to it because:• They can schedule an appointment with a

bank representative quickly and easily while the need is still urgent

• This level of personal service provides a unique feeling of control and empowerment

• There’s no waiting in the branch or on the phone to meet with a representative

And banks benefit because they can:• Know the customer’s need before the appointment

so they can be prepared to deliver exceptional service and optimize staffing

• Drive an ongoing stream of in-branch or phone appointments with true shoppers

• Strengthen customer relationships and long-term loyalty

• Reduce “No Shows” to below 10%

E&Y Global Consumer Banking Survey

2011

“Customers put channel efficiency and personalization ahead of price as a driver of satisfaction”

Key Recommendations:

1. Personalizing Banking – Personalization is a vital element of a successful customer relationship, and will help to improve brand perception.

2. Improve Personalization Across Channels – Make better use of customer information and leverage new technology capabilities such as Web 2.0 to increase the level of personalization in customer interactions.

3. Enhance the Customer Experience – by investing in branches & delivering personal attention across channels.



Streamline and Manage Multi-Channel Service DeliveryMulti-channel service delivery has expanded from “the branch is the bank” to a myriad of options including not only traditional branches, but call centers, internet, mobile, in-product, email, print and social media. Customers will choose different channels for different types of transactions based on their individual preferences. Banks must be ready to provide a consistent experience across channels in order to meet this increasingly complex environment.

Self-service appointment scheduling helps banks unify service delivery across all retail channels to build stronger customer relationships while optimizing call center and in-branch operations.

The example below highlights how many banks are using Banking by Appointment across their multi-channel service delivery environment:

Alternate Delivery – BoA lets customers schedule appointments from their Facebook page.

Online – UNFCU encourages customers to schedule appointments from their website.

In-Product – BoA provides high-value customers with a callout to schedule a personal phone appointment inside their online banking product.

Mobile – BoA’s mobile app prominently includes a link to schedule an in-branch appointment.

Call Center – DCU’s call center reps schedule in-branch and phone appointments with banking specialists on the customer’s behalf.



Segmentation Converting the Online Customer to In-Branch or Phone Appointments for High-Value Services

Banks have successfully transitioned consumers to online banking for cost effective self-service. But as a result, banks are faced with an entirely new set of challenges:

• Since customers do more business online, they visit branches less, and therefore are losing the personal relationships that drive business.

• Online-centric customers are hesitant to visit branches because they don’t want to wait in the queue to meet with a specialist.

• It’s too easy for existing customers to shop from competitors online. High-value customers exhibit reduced loyalty and have an increased ability to spread their relationships across multiple banks.

Many banks have adapted to these new dynamics and turned these challenges into opportunity.

And that’s where Banking by Appointment comes in... Since it makes appointment scheduling visible and easy, it compels consumers to schedule appointments with your representatives when they’re in the process of researching products and services and their interest is at its peak. By giving banks a simple and effective way to convert online customers and prospects into in-branch or phone appointments for high-value services it merges the two channels together in a seamless way that drives business, increases cross-sell opportunities and creates a unique level of personalization while delivering a positive customer experience.

To say that online banking is thriving is an understatement. Consider that:

• 63 million Americans bank online - IDC Financial Insights Consumer Payment Survey 7/12

• 81% of those who manage household finances banked online at least once in the past 12 months - Pew Research Center 1/12

• 73.5% of U.S. consumers now use online bill payment -IDC Financial Insights Consumer Payment Survey 7/12

HSBC Online Mortgage Case StudyBank 2.0 – Brett King

After adding self-service appointment scheduling to their online mortgage web page HSBC saw mortgage leads grow from 10 to 800 per month resulting in $20M in new business from that channel.

“It wasn’t a case of build it and they will come, because they were already there. It was simply a case of “think of how the customer behaves”, and they got the benefit.”

~Brett King – Bank 2.0

Date post:	10-Jan-2022
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