Financial services chief Manoj Pulohit says
that communications technology is enabling banks to target potential customers
much more effectively
Manoj
Pulohit, head of financial services at Cisco Systems, a major US-based IT
network company, says banking services anytime, anywhere will soon become the
new benchmark for competition in the 10-country Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Such a
standard can be achieved by customer experience management (CEM), which is changing
the way banking and related services are marketed and delivered to customers.
"You
could be sitting at a Starbucks outlet and having a coffee while doing your
banking, or you could be at the airport and talk to your relationship manager
face-to-face via the video conference system. Or you can do phone banking - any
of these channels - no matter what the time is or whether you are inside or
outside the branches.
"For
Thai bankers, the key objective is to differentiate the services and ensure
satisfaction among different customer segments.
"For
example, some Thai banks have already started the branch innovation process and
the use of social media to tap the so-called Generation Y customers [those who
are 30 or younger].
"The
previous one-size-fits-all strategy doesn't work anymore. So far, Singapore and
Malaysia have led the way among Asean banks in terms of using CEM to boost
their competitiveness. Newer economies in Asean can also leapfrog with CEM.
"To
differentiate, banks will have to manage their customer experience
competitively. For example, it now takes only 48 hours to launch a new product,
so it's easy to replicate the pricing such as the interest rates, but it is
more difficult to replicate a good CEM.
Tatchapol
Poshyanonoda, managing director of Cisco Thailand, adds that Thailand's
Kasikorn Bank, for example, is implementing a digital media marketing measure
as part of the CEM policy that allows specific customer segmentation such as
males, females, or high net-worth customers.
"In
the older days, they would put marketing messeges on printed brochures, but
it's now a waste to do it that way, or is less effective in this digital era.
Meantime, bank branch innovation is also one of the solutions that can transform
the customer experience in terms of touch-points.
"For
example, a new Bank of Ayuthaya branch in Bangkok's Siam Square has created a
new theme to fit the tastes of customers. The outlet has a video wall of
multiple TV screens facing outside the branch.
"All
these screens can be triggered when people walk by and they will display
various advertising and marketing messages prepared by the banks. In the
future, these screens will be even smarter, as they will be able to recongise
the different age or income groups among those passers-by, as they could be
teenagers, elderly or high net-worth and so on.
"This
will allow banks to respond with messages specific to those walking by its
branches. The contents could be ads, public relations, information for banking
and related services, or even games to engage the customers and change their
mindset and perception of banks.
Manoj
adds: "In the banking industry, the traditional pyramid would have the
private banking customers at the top, then high net-worth customers, then
affluent, and then emerging affluent, and the mass market.
"They
all have different banking needs. The Gen Y segment can be anywhere on this
pyramid, but many of these people probably would not walk to the branches, so
we need other channels for them such as social media.
"For
example, if I want to buy a car, I'll ask my friends what the banks are
charging for a car loan, so banks have to capitalise on the social media like
Facebook and Twitter to reach Gen Y.
"If
someone is going to be a father in the coming months, what can the banks do?
Besides congratulations and well-wishing messages, banks may offer to sell
insurance or other products to him, or he may need a loan for a bigger house.
All this will lead to potential new businesses for banks using CEM and social
media as the tools."
Nophakhun
Limsamarnphun
The
Nation
Business & Investment Opportunities
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