Messaging changes the banking customer experience.
At the end of 2019, Sinch surveyed 2,300 global consumers to understand their attitudes towards messaging and how they prefer to interact with businesses using messaging.
One of the most powerful findings concerns the banking industry: consumers in particular are open to receiving messages and notifications from banks, but they either don't have access to these features or aren't aware of them. The lesson: in no other industry is there such pent-up demand for messaging features as in financial services. Now it's up to industry leaders to exploit this gap.
Let's review the key research findings:
1. Consumers are 35 times more likely to open mobile messages than emails
Mobile messages, even those quickly scanned from a home screen, are more likely to hit them than emails, which can be filtered into “promotional” folders or even relegated to spam.
2. I consumers find value in being able to send messages to their bank
Nearly 3 in 4 (70%) said they would find mobile alerts about suspicious banking activity "very useful," and 94% said these types of alerts would be at least somewhat useful. Attitudes toward personalized banking promotions delivered via messaging were slightly less enthusiastic but still positive.
Message Measurement Utility
Which of these scenarios would you find useful?
3. Younger consumers are more open to promotional messaging
According to Sinch research, nearly all banking customers welcome messaging regarding potential banking fraud, but attitudes toward promotional messages differ widely by generation. Baby boomers are least likely to welcome these types of interactions (only 30% of them say they welcome them), while more than half of millennials and Gen Z say the same.
Generation-to-generation messaging attitudes for the banking sector
Which of these scenarios is welcome?
(Show only "welcome" answers below)
4. I Consumers want more messaging options
The research shows a clear "opportunity gap" between how consumers use messaging today and how they would like to use it. In the banking industry, 70% wants banks to report suspicious activity on their accounts, but only 35% receives this today. A recent one Facebook search shows that young people's enthusiasm for messaging will put further pressure on the banking sector. It found that 90% of checking account holders aged 18 to 34 say they feel comfortable interacting with a bank on a messaging app.
5. I consumers appreciate chatbots as an efficient alternative
Two out of three who have used a chatbot report a positive experience, citing speed and efficiency as the reasons. Most say that chatbots served them even better than a human agent. What does this mean for the banking industry? Consumers are ready for more... if financial institutions would offer it. Among the major opportunities in the banking industry:
Make it channel agnostic
Some of your customers will be comfortable with in-app messaging, while others will prefer speaking to a live person on the phone. The key is to ensure you have the right channel for each of your customers, whether it's SMS, MMS, RCS, chat apps, social apps, email, or voice. All of these elements play a fundamental role in the digital customer experience.
Real-time interactions focused on security
Allow your customers to easily set up notification triggers for unbalanced and unusual activities. Remember, the 90% of consumers aged 18 to 34 say they feel comfortable interacting with a bank using a messaging app.
Support secure conversations
Offer customers the option to chat with representatives through their banking app or using a verified phone number through messaging apps, always keeping security in mind. These messaging-based interactions are an important option for customers, who almost always have their phones on them for a exchange of messages , but they may not be able to make voice calls or log in on a computer.
Automate customer service
Not all customer questions require a human touch. For more routine interactions (e.g., "How long is my local branch open?"), banks can deploy messaging chatbots or rich media messaging response chips (pre-programmed scripts and interactive features delivered automatically via messaging). And for customers who need even more support than automated conversations can provide, the app can quickly redirect the customer from messaging to a live call.
Personalized solutions
A young consumer might be looking for a used car loan, while an older customer might require on-demand retirement planning advice. Messaging can be an important part of the conversation, giving banks the opportunity to initiate conversations triggered by a customer's recent financial milestone. For example, "I noticed you recently set up direct deposit into your savings account. Would you like to discuss money market options to earn a higher return on those funds?" Using rich media or RCS, banks can also offer advanced features such as ratings to recommend specific mortgage products.
Push-based financial news
For clients looking to keep up with key financial indicators or news, design push-based campaigns tailored to the individual, whether it's breaking news on specific stock positions in the client's portfolio or releases of economic indicators impacting on those approaching retirement. Ultimately, regardless of the ecosystem of channels and features, the key is ensuring customers trust their financial institution to protect their money and data. Personalization of messaging and features is part of the trust equation, Facebook says. It found that 2 out of 3 millennials and Gen Z states that "feeling understood" from your financial provider is an important indicator of trust.
