Consumers have choice in most areas of their life yet in their banking they are faced with a ‘take it or leave it’ approach. It won’t be long before they will expect a tailor-made service that caters to their personal preferences, says Chris Skinner.
Imagine a supermarket with shelf after shelf of baked beans, bread, beer, water, sausages, apples and that is it. Or a clothes shop with only their own brand of jackets, shirts and trousers available in only one style. Walk into a bank and that is what you get: the bank’s own-brand, limited selection deposit account, credit card, mortgage, loans, pensions and investments.
This ‘one size fits all’ approach did appear to be changing: USA Bancshares partnered with pop icon David Bowie; Royal Bank of Scotland jumped into a venture with Virgin. Yet things have since slowed down and it appears to be business as usual.
It amazes me that in the 21st century, with IT vendors supposedly delivering customer relationship management and 1:1 marketing, that we haven’t come further. We have some personalisation: the bank says: “Hello Mr Skinner, how can I help?” when I telephone. But why don’t we have a Mother’s Bank, Green Bank, Harry Potter Bank, and so on? These are what I call ‘lifestyle banks’ – the banking offer is wrapped up in a brand and emotional experience that reflects my personal tastes rather than just a transaction engine.
There are a few lifestyle banks but the ability to join is limited. How many internet banks can be completely tailored to the colour schemes, profiles and preferences of each user? Most appear to emulate the old transactional bank statement in an online operation.
Give it five years, and I would be surprised to find that banking works the same way. Consumers will expect to be able to pull together all sorts of affinities, joint venture offers and electronic components to build the lifestyle bank of their choice.
In my case, this would be an online account that plays Abba’s “Money, money, money” when I’m online, provides easy access to ethical funds and gives me an extra point of interest every time Manchester United win the soccer league.
And that is where today’s retail banks are losing out: in their focus on 1:1 marketing and CRM, retail banks think too much like bankers and not enough like marketers. Bankers must start thinking like retailers, with heavily branded and co-branded offers, and like consumers – bringing fun, creativity and emotion into their financial management.
It is this emotional experience that all banks should aspire to attain, yet few are achieving. The bottom line is that, in today’s connected world, it is an emotional, not transactional, connection that needs to be implemented.
Chris Skinner is founder of Shaping Tomorrow and chief executive of Balatro Ltd. Find out more at www.ShapingTomorrow.com or e-mail Chris at chris.skinner@shapingtomorrow.com
