The banking sector’s future is shaped by digital business models. Digitization has caused a shift in customers’ behavior and preferences for conventional financial services. It has also elevated the competition by putting pressure on banks to become “digital first” to stay competitive.
73% of bank customers use digital services at least once a month, and the global digital banking market is estimated to reach 12 trillion USD by 2026.
As time goes on, we can expect many banks to evolve into tech companies that provide digital services, utilizing their extensive customer base and broad distribution networks. Many banking organizations have adopted customer-focused technology such as a CRM to improve their internal infrastructure and gain a competitive edge. If you’re still on the fence or are looking to adopt a tool, this article shares the advantages of a CRM in the banking sector to help you make a call!
Before we get into the advantages, let’s understand the challenges that are slowing down banking organizations.
Key challenges faced by the banking sector
Lack of digitization is one of the key issues that negatively affects customer satisfaction in the banking sector. It limits access to services, causes inconvenience, creates security risks, and makes it difficult to compare products and services. Customers may be frustrated, dissatisfied, and may even lose trust in the bank due to the lack of digital services.
Banks also face operational issues without the right digital tools to mediate back-end processes and customer-facing functions.
These include:
- Customer dissatisfaction: Customers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the convenience of digital services and expect the same level of service from their banks. Banks that do not digitize their services risk losing customers to more digitally-savvy competitors.
- Inefficient processes: Banks that rely on manual processes are prone to errors, delays, and higher costs. Digitization can streamline processes and make them more efficient.
- Competition from FinTech: Financial technology (FinTech) companies are entering the market and challenging traditional banks with their innovative, digital-first business models. Banks that do not digitize risk losing market share to these competitors.
- Security concerns: As more financial transactions are conducted online; the threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches increases. Banks that do not invest in digital security risk damaging their reputation and losing customer trust.
- Inability to scale: Digitization offers banks the ability to scale their business as efficiently as their tech-savvy competitors. Without it, they can’t reach new customers and expand their offerings more easily.
In conclusion, traditional banks are sorely lacking in both the software tools and the digital literacy that is required to compete with the modern fintech institutions. A Banking Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution can play a significant role in the digitization of the banking sector by addressing several key challenges faced by banks. A CRM solution can help banks digitize their services and improve the overall customer experience, streamline processes, increase efficiency, improve cross-selling and upselling, and enhance customer engagement.
What is a Banking CRM?
A Banking CRM is a centralized system that integrates with other banking software to provide a comprehensive view of every customer account. It records every customer interaction, including deposits, loan requests, and other pre-determined actions.
It is a software tool designed specifically for the banking sector that helps banks manage their customer interactions and relationships. It helps banks understand their customers’ needs and preferences, automate and streamline key processes, and provide a more personalized customer experience.
A banking CRM solution typically integrates with other systems used by banks, such as core banking systems and marketing automation tools, to provide a comprehensive view of customer interactions and data. It can also help banks engage customers through multiple channels, such as email, social media, and mobile, and provide real-time insights into customer interactions and feedback.
10 Advantages of CRM in the Banking Sector
Here are some of the key benefits of implementing a dedicated banking CRM solution.
1. A complete 360-degree view of every customer
A comprehensive overview of each customer can be obtained through a banking CRM. This is achieved by integrating the CRM with various banking software applications, creating a unified system that offers a single view of all customer accounts.
Any pre-determined actions taken by customers, such as using an ATM or inquiring about a specific loan, can be recorded in the CRM. This allows businesses to gain deeper insights into customers’ habits and personal preferences, enabling them to match financial products to their goals more easily.
2. Personalize customer journeys
Given the abundance of private banks available, customers often use multiple banks to meet their various financial needs, rather than relying on a single bank. To stand out from the competition, providing a personalized customer experience is crucial.
A banking CRM eliminates gaps in the customer journey and allows banks to offer assistance from the moment a customer opens an account until they make transactions, apply for loans, and beyond. This helps banks value their customers’ business and meet their financial needs in a timely and efficient manner. Additionally, regularly following up with customers demonstrates that the bank cares about their relationship.
3. Better customer segmentation
Banks should aim for a customer-focused business model that is tailored to their needs. A banking CRM helps categorize customers based on various factors such as gender, demographics, age, income, credit rating, and more. It also facilitates segmentation based on investment preferences, investment size, and length of the customer relationship.
This classification serves as a specific parameter to build a personalized approach. Doing so, significantly aid banks in reaching out to customers and fostering business relationships.
4. A boost in loan sales
By using an appropriate Banking CRM, banks can deliver a digital-focused banking experience that customers expect. A CRM helps sales executives understand the intent for the customer, the type of loan he needs, previous engagements with the customer to estimate behavioral patterns, and other such insights to strategically sell. A banking CRM can also help in the context of omni-channel customer engagement, opportunity management, reports, lead management, and more.
5. Improve sales and marketing performance
The data accessible through the CRM tool can be integrated into reports that provide a thorough and strategic understanding of your customers. Bankers can effortlessly identify patterns, promotional campaigns, and areas of improvement to develop new strategies and customize future marketing initiatives.
Banks can leverage the information in their customer profiles to discover potential cross-selling and upselling prospects.
For instance, when a customer makes a deposit at the bank, the teller can access their complete profile and inform them of new products they may be eligible for or interested in, such as credit cards or exclusive loans.
6. Higher customer loyalty
With a Banking CRM solution in place, banking agents have access to a complete history of a customer’s interactions and activities. This enables them to assist the customer, resolving any issues and transforming challenges quickly and efficiently into opportunities for building loyalty and satisfaction.
To keep potential customers engaged, it is crucial to maintain consistent communication. A Banking CRM allows you to create personalized customer journeys and trigger automated emails based on specific actions. Dynamic templates can also be created to send offers tailored to the customer’s website activity.
Additionally, instant alerts can be set up to notify the appropriate team member when a lead performs a sales-friendly action. For example, if a prospect begins filling out a loan application but doesn’t complete it, an automated email can be sent or a salesperson can be notified to follow up manually.
7. Simplify the underwriting process
Traditional methods of the loan origination process involves manual background verification through tele calling, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. A robust banking CRM streamlines the entire process, making it easier for banks and their tele calling teams to have insight on past interactions with a borrower along with their financial portfolio for better decision making.
Furthermore, it’s important for banks to evaluate the eligibility of a loan applicant. Banks have their own criteria, such as credit score, income, employment, etc. With a CRM, the eligibility check of potential borrowers can be automated with knock-out rules, leads can be distributed to relationship managers efficiently, and much more.
8. Better customer service with reports and analytics
The use of a real-time Banking CRM system makes it simple for bank representatives to record customer information and makes follow-ups much easier. They can also determine the products that are generating the most revenue in different locations. This helps them keep track of what is successful and what is not.
For example, a significant increase in loan disbursals in a specific area may indicate a positive impact, and they can easily find out why. If there is a decrease in credit card purchases, they can offer ones with more discounts.
With online banking readily accessible, bankers should be able to provide personalized services and experiences to their customers proactively. The omnichannel experience of a CRM system enables efficient management of customer interactions through calls, chat, email, social media, and mobile applications, thereby enhancing customer service.
9. Improve cross-department collaborations
The CRM tool can simplify a banker’s life by centralizing all data in one place. It helps keep all bank departments on the same page, eliminating the need for customers to go from department to department. The right CRM can also provide a digital experience that matches the expectations of customers in a face-to-face encounter with their banker.
The CRM can track data from multiple departments, enabling it to prepare future customers. Interdepartmental leads can also be smoothly managed without having to start a new conversation each time.
10. Prevents customer churn
The CRM tool provides real-time data that allows banks to make informed decisions about their next steps. The key is to remember effective strategies boost customer satisfaction! By prioritizing customer needs and resolving issues promptly, a bank can differentiate itself from its competitors.
A Banking CRM can highlight touchpoints, negative interactions, or areas of concerns to reduce customer churn. By tracking lead activity and status, these issues can be resolved early on to retain your relationship with the customer and may even improve it.
Well, these advantages can turn your business around but before you get to these results, you need to implement the right banking CRM for your business. But don’t worry, the next segment will address all your concerns about implementing a banking CRM.
Implementing a Banking CRM solution
To implement a Banking CRM, one needs to define their goals and objectives, identify the target audience, evaluate CRM options, plan for data migration, train employees, launch and continuously monitor how it impacts performance. It is a complex process that requires careful planning and execution to ensure its success
Rethinking legacy workflows for automation
Traditional banks’ workflows must be optimized for automation. This can eliminate numerous manual procedures and force many employees to change positions. Initial training is also required for the implementation of a banking CRM.
Here are a few measures banks may take to improve their workflow for automation.
- Evaluate current processes
Take a look at your present procedures to discover which are out of date and need to be improved.
- Determine your pain points
Evaluate the bottlenecks in your present workflows that are impeding efficiency and production.
- Examine the impact
Figure out how your existing procedures affect customer experience and overall business success.
- Reassess business requirements
Structure your company’s requirements and identify what modifications are required to fulfil your current demands and goals.
- Create a new workflow
Create a new process that is ideal for automation, integrating the most up-to-date tools and techniques found in a banking CRM.
- Test and refine
Put the new workflow through its paces to uncover flaws and refine it as needed.
- Train staff
Finally, offer personnel with training on the new workflows and procedures to enable a seamless transition.
In a financial organization, rethinking old procedures for automation should be done in stages. It can, however, assist to streamline procedures, boost efficiency, and improve the customer experience. To establish an automated process, a comprehensive strategy including the latest technologies and best practices is required.
What to look for in a banking CRM?
While most banks have their own requirements, all banking CRM solutions should have some core features. Understanding these features and what works for your business can be overwhelming, but you can check out this guide to before finalizing a CRM.
Here are the 10 key CRM features that are key for banking organizations:
- Customization: The CRM should be customizable to fit the specific needs of the bank and its customers. Every bank has its specific set of requirements, and you need to check that the CRM of your choice will offer the same.
- User-friendly interface: The system should have an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to use and navigate. Banks have customers aging from young adults to the elderly with varying levels of digital literacy. The solution should have an UI that everyone can use.
- Integration: The CRM should integrate seamlessly with other bank systems such as core banking, loan management, and reporting systems. It should also have APIs for integration with other auxiliary services to provide improved social engagement and customer service.
- Data Management: Your chosen platform should provide robust data management capabilities, including data capture, storage, analysis, and reporting.
- Automation: Tools to automate repetitive tasks and workflows, freeing up staff time to focus on high-value activities.
- Lead Management: A banking CRM will help employ a comprehensive approach to lead management, right from lead capture to nurture!
- Campaign management: The CRM should provide robust campaign management capabilities, including the ability to design, execute, and measure the success of marketing campaigns.
- Reporting and analytics: Reporting and analytics capabilities, including the ability to generate customer-specific reports and analyze customer behavior.
- Security: Security features to protect customer data and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
- Mobile access: The platform should be accessible via mobile devices to allow bank staff to access customer information and manage customer interactions while on-the-go.
Closing thoughts
A Banking CRM is vital for banking services because it enables banks to manage their client connections effectively and efficiently. It offers a consolidated platform for storing customer data and recording interactions, which can then be analyzed to determine consumer behavior and preferences. This data can then be utilized to enhance the customer experience, boost customer loyalty, and drive revenue development.
LeadSquared’s tailored Banking CRM covers all the features you need and more configured to your business requirements. You can check out the product specifications, implementation period, and pricing by getting in touch with our team today!
