02:09 AM
Now's the Time for Bankers to Get Personal with Customers
I opened my first bank account at the age of nine. That event could not have been more personal. Mr. Tyler knew my first deposit was a Social Security Death Benefits payment that would repeat itself every month until age 18. He advised me that if I never made a withdrawal, I'd have enough money for my college tuition. He even told me the college I should attend and the major studies I should choose. Once a month he would wave me down to his station even though I preferred to wait in line for one of the pretty girls. All I ever saw of Mr. Tyler was his head and shoulders. He never stepped out from behind the wall of protection that separated him from his customers.Today, branches have the feel of a Starbucks, but most bankers still have a mental wall of protection. I'm not suggesting hugs and kisses as a remedy. There's a better approach in serving the needs of customers that uses technology to do all the "heavy lifting" coupled with the charm of a human being. I know what you're thinking-a banker with charm is an oxymoron. Here's how we're going to fix that.
The real need in banking is the application of technology to develop customer knowledge to feed the relationship. "Have a nice day" ain't gonna cut it. And please don't tell me CRM is the answer. What I'm talking about is something that a bank can implement and use at least within a few months, not a work in progress for a lifetime.
Achieving a tech-based online "Know Your Customer System" involves the following:
1. The solution begins with a custom designed template of data elements that characterize the customer. 2. Then the development of a Relational DataBase Management System (DBMS), using, of course, a classic vendor-supplied generic DBMS (aka Oracle, MS SQL, Informix, Sybase and others). 3. A host processor (in-house or outsource) that will make available an updated customer database at a frequency to be determined (most bankers would gladly accept weekly). 4. Then a personal laptop equipped with an updated customer database CD and search criteria capabilities. The CD, of course, is locked until the banker provides an iris, fingerprint, dual passwords, and for the sake of tradition, mother's maiden name. 5. Finally, and most importantly, a banker who can do two things at a time, like watch the game on TV and search his/her customer database.
The next day, that banker has his/her work cut out for him/her. Here's an example of what I'd like to hear from my Premier Banking officer. Even though most bankers talk as if they are reading from a compliance manual, I'll use my jargon:
"Mr. Gillis, I was surfing the database of my best customers last night as I watched the Cowboys get creamed, and I saw a bright spot when I pulled up your relationship profile. With 14 accounts, and a 13-year record of no defaults, and I'm assuming you're not homeless, how come we don't have a mortgage in the relationship profile? With a record like yours, you're at the front of the line for good things we can do for you. You paid your dues with the Bank so we owe you something in return. We call it our 'preferred rate.' When can I come and visit with you?"
In 2008, the word is not "plastics" and the expression is not "it's the economy, stupid." In 2008 and beyond, the key phrase is, "Intelligence In Marketing." And the technology is waiting to be assembled. What's on your IT list of things to do?