One of the key questions I get when meeting with customers is “What am I seeing in the market”?  What they often really mean is “What are my competitors doing?”  Banking is one of the most competitive of all industries; gains by Bank A are usually at the expense of Bank B.

Strategies I hear fall into one of two areas. First, financial institutions are looking to improve efficiency. Owners of an institution, whether shareholders of a public bank or members of a credit union, expect a Return-on-Assets and Return-on-Equity that is superior to other investment options. Second, financial institutions must deliver an experience to their customers or members that is differentiated – one that drives loyalty and repeat buying.

First, Improving Efficiency

The need to lower costs crosses all industries and geographies. It’s not just banks in Europe; it’s retailers in Asia, and hospitality providers in Latin America.  The words are often different – bank CEOs use words like “Lowering cost” (South Africa), “Maximizing efficiencies” (United States), “Tighter cost control” (Turkey), and “Labor productivity” (Russia). Efficiency gains are usually tied directly to the use of multi-channel technologies. For example, a major bank in Eastern Europe notes their “Efforts to decrease the cost to serve” are directly linked to “Better leveraging a multi-channel focus”.  Another major global bank states their objective is to grow from “40% to 75% of all transactions via remote channels”, and links their goal of a “50% improvement in labor productivity”.

How are they achieving these results? In the United States, banks and credit unions are using automated deposit of checks and cash to shift transactions from tellers to the ATM. In Europe, banks are leveraging teller cash recyclers to simplify processes and free up time for tellers to interact (and sell) to the customer.  In India, banks are using personalization to make cash withdrawals faster, improving ATM utilization and providing precious minutes back to the consumer at the same time.

Second, Deliver a Differentiated Consumer Experience Across Channels

The other key theme I hear from banks around the world is the need to deliver a differentiated customer experience across banking channels. Why?  Because a differentiated experience drives customer loyalty and repeat buying. Whether in the branch, at the ATM, via the call center, using the internet, or via a mobile phone application, financial institutions CEO’s are saying their customers now expect – and even demand – an integrated and seamless experience.

They use different ways to express this; “Win through a differentiated customer experience” (Indonesia), “Superior customer experience, with technology as a facilitator” (Spain), or “Deliver a holistic customer experience across all touch points” (Thailand).  But the underlying objective is the same – offer your customers or members an experience that is better than the competition.

The payoff is clear – banks that achieve this differentiated experience will sell more products to their customers, and deliver higher profits. As one of the largest US banks notes, they are able to sell 80% more products, and deliver 50% more annualized profits, from their multi-channel customers.

And that’s an objective we all can agree on – sell more, make more.