I want a bank (and other financial service providers) that will listen to me, respond to my queries and offer me services through the social media channels that I frequent. And I am not alone – it is estimated that by 2018 there will be about 300 million social network users in India alone. Yes, that includes all my friends and many of our elders – dads and moms – who are making the transition across the digital divide, albeit with a lot of reluctance and hesitation.
Let me be specific, up front – mere social media presence by my so-called service providers is not enough. I want them to be faster in the delivery of services, be more effective and provide me with customized support as and when I need them. No, I am not talking about a recorded message in a phony accent that makes me hold on with the sole purpose of testing my patience – I want real time information, proprietary knowledge that my banker is supposed to have and any advice regarding regulations that I may seek, in the platform of my choice when I seek it in my convenience. It’s okay if the bank/ financial institution contacts me with its offers in an effort to induce me to invest my hard earned monies, but guys, please – don’t inundate me with trolls about your money back policy, that I will certainly not live to enjoy. And yes, I want a firm and secure feedback mechanism where I can voice my displeasure about the quality of your service without fear or favour.
Before writing this piece I touched base with most of my friends and the fact remains. Most customer complaints in the social go unheeded and when the pachyderms do respond, they are either too little, or too late, often, both! So guys, time to pull up your socks, before the next upstart comes and disrupts your apple cart of complacency.
Okay, I am willing to concede the fact that Banks and Financial Institutions including the Insurance Sector in India has traditionally been used to pushing products and is finding it a tad bit difficult, now that the Social Media is calling for customer engagement, that too in real-time, in the virtual space, which requires a two-way communication as opposed to didactic sermonizing. It is calling for enhanced understanding of the customer, customer needs, customer psychologies and will require the institutions to equip themselves with deep insights of the customer psyche for which they have to use a completely new set of metrics and social analytics.
That brings us to another very exciting area where these institutions can chose not to move in at their own peril. Yes, I am talking about the big data space. We are already connected to our teeth and the data is all there – all that the banks / FI’s need to do now is to use advanced analytics to identify, analyse and interpret our associations and interactions in the social space to fine tune their decision making process, even sell their offerings better. Please understand that the social media analytics (read text and behavioral analytics) can provide you with insights about consumer tastes, preferences and sentiments that you will otherwise be hard pressed to access. Once integrated into your traditional skill sets – analytical systems, if you want, can be an invaluable tool, to put things mildly.
Already there are banks in different parts of the world that are using social media metrics to process and price loan decisions – that too, as some point out, with remarkably less risks on the downside.
Finally one area of deep concern that is shared by all of us. It is time banks tell us, in a transparent manner, as to how secure our transactions are. News about rogue attacks on the banking systems, about backdoors and commercially harmful phishing are a dime a dozen and as consumers we are not only concerned about the security and safety of our transactions but also about the sanctity of our relations with our bankers. Read my lips, this is one grey area that often holds us back from embracing net banking the way we want to and the banks and other institutions will do well to keep us in the loop about their firewalls and other protective measures so as to win our trust.
Tweet me a loan, anyone?
The piece was originally written for the Financial Express BFSI@Kolkata
(Ankit Barmecha, a technology buff, is pursuing graduation in BESC – a leading Kolkata based institution and is actively engaged in his family business. Ankit has also completed a three month course in Corporate Communications from the college for though he wants to keep his tryst with fame and fortune in the family business, he understands the need of effective communication, especially in these days of a shrinking world order, where communication is and will continue to be the tilting factor. He is also excited about the way the shift to the Social Media is taking place and is confident of riding its crest to success.)