Given the choice between product innovation or customer experience, what reigns supreme? Total Expert Founder and CEO shares his thoughts and asks four experts to weigh in.
Service is in banking’s soul. It’s a core part of driving growth. In fact service could be called banking’s most differentiating offering, because banking is largely the same everywhere. Industry standouts focus on how they treat people.
However, recent history in banking, especially fintech innovation, raises an important question: With fintechs winning so many new customers, does product innovation mean banking organizations can no longer depend on service to compensate for a commoditized product offering?
In a Forbes blog, Cornerstone Advisor’s Ron Shevlin answers that question in the affirmative. “Conventional wisdom… holds that [fintechs] win customers because they provide a superior customer experience (CX),” Shevlin suggests. “That’s not it. They’re winning customers because their products address the unique needs of the communities they serve.”
Over the past 20 years, financial institutions have convinced themselves — and let themselves be told — that their products are commodities, Shevlin said. “It’s not true. The allocation of resources is insufficient for product quality. Financial institutions can get more bang for their next buck of investment from improving products versus improving the customer experience.”
Has service — or “customer experience,” its modern corollary — fallen to the backburner? Should product innovation dominate banking’s budget? We asked three thought leaders to weigh in on the future of the customer experience in banking. I then added some thoughts of my own.
Read the full article on thefinancialbrand.com.
