3 Imperatives to Transform Financial Institutions

Digital transformation in the financial services industry is driving rapid change in the way financial institutions do business. Consumer expectations are growing. Managing money and investments through digital mediums is the new normal. But financial institutions face heavy regulations that can make it difficult to keep up with transformation.

To stay competitive and digitally transform, financial organizations can prioritize these imperatives for a differentiated customer experience. 

1. Develop an onboarding strategy built around the customer

Customer-first strategies bring financial institutions ahead of the competition for many reasons. The most important being that when consumer demands drive change, organizations that cater to these needs create better experiences. For financial institutions, this starts with a seamless onboarding process. 

It's crucial to get the onboarding process right—one in three customers will leave a brand for a competitor if the onboarding process is a hassle. And unlike the early days of consumerism, the lowest price isn't always going to win the customer—68% of customers are willing to pay more for the same product or service in order to work with a company with good customer service. 

Onboarding involves a fair amount of data-gathering and getting to know the customer (and vice versa, the customer getting to know the organization). Ensuring data is organized so customers don't need to reiterate themselves is essential, which brings us to the next imperative: data

2. Get data in order

A great customer experience starts with informed staff. From support teams to knowledge workers, teams across an organization should have a comprehensive view of the customer to make informed decisions. In fact, 70% of AIIM members say that getting the right information to the right person at the right time is at the heart of the challenge of digital transformation. 

For organizations with disparate legacy systems, this can be a significant challenge. When systems don't integrate and data is siloed, cross-functional teams aren't able to access critical customer data when they need it, which can lead to a poor customer experience.

3. Embrace impending change

Digital transformation is an ongoing process. What started in the early 2000s as a transition from paper to digital has led to the emergence of technologies like artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and more that have an immeasurable impact on businesses across industries and their customers. 

To maximize digital transformation, build flexibility into your overall strategy. Anticipating change and remaining agile helps organizations realize these benefits:

• Quick time to market and shortened time to revenue.
• Unprecedented control over the onboarding journey for business users.
• Reduced expenditure in audit and related costs.

If your financial services organization wants to kickstart its digital transformation journey, keep these three criteria in mind when developing your strategy. For more insight into how to digitally transform and the technology that can help you along the way, download Five Ways Highly Regulated Organizations Can Transform.