The Experience Evolution: Recent Episodes
JRNI
Welcome to The Experience Evolution from JRNI. We'll bring you insights from those in the industry, share discussions on how best to communicate and create memorable experiences for customers, and give you the tools to thrive.
Digital marketing trends increased user adoption of online banking, especially during the pandemic. Bank users sought out safe ways to use their financial institutions. These institutions pivoted through a lot of changes forced by the pandemic, and many of those were online.
This leads to the question: Is there still a role for the physical branch?
Here to give insights on this episode of the Experience Evolution is Nick Barnes, Practice Director of Financial Services at JRNI, and Sean Jones, Sr. Assistant Vice President of Marketing & User-Experience at Redstone Federal Credit Union. They talked about trends they see impacting banking today, both online and in the branch.
With online banking already transforming the industry, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased adoption. At the beginning of the pandemic, users couldn’t physically go into a bank, so they quickly adopted online practices.
“I think at the start of the pandemic, many members and customers wanted to be as safe as possible,” Barnes said. “It’s why we’ve seen digital transformation skyrocket so quickly. Now that we’re 18+ months into this, I think everyone is looking for options to continue to bank safely.”
With customers leaning toward online options, banks saw the use of their ITMs and ATMs skyrocket. But, that doesn’t mean users aren’t going into the bank when they need to, and banks have kept traditional in-person options while creating online video meeting options.
“We’ve seen a significant increase of ITMs,” Jones said, “which is our interactive teller machines. That allows members to do all their banking without needing to come into a branch. And then obviously there’s been a significant explosion in the volume of mobile banking and digital banking that’s taking place.”
Banking appointments are another trend Jones said Redstone Federal Credit Union experienced during the pandemic. Bank customers are more efficient with their visits to the bank
“What we’re seeing is individuals, if they choose to come into a branch, they’re doing it in a more streamlined fashion,” Jones said. “They want to come in, take care of their business, and move on with their day.”
Did the pandemic rewrite the rules for the holiday shopping season? Is there even a rulebook anymore? As consumers look to engage with their favorite brands across all channels this upcoming holiday season, retailers will need to find ways to bridge the gap between in-person and online to provide seamless experiences. John Federman, CEO of JRNI, and Adam Percival, National Sales Leader at luxury menswear retailer, Harry Rosen, broke down the recent trends they believe will impact the upcoming holiday shopping season and provide tips for success for retailers.
One behavioral carry-over from last year is people’s need to engage on a personal level, Federman said. “They want to celebrate the holidays, but they want to do so safely. What’s different from last year is everyone feels a little like a veteran. They feel they know the ways to comfortably and safely get accomplished what they need to get accomplished.” Boiled down: people are ready to shop this holiday season, but they will do so in a safe manner. The retailers that can provide a safe environment will come out on top.
From Harry Rosen’s perspective, Percival said they’d worked hard to develop new strategies for creating a unique shopping experience during the pandemic, and this will be crucial during the holiday shopping season as well. “We see the trend of online shopping continue. Consumers want to shop when and where it’s convenient to them. I do see the appointment business continue to be very strong. People want to shop either at home or in their office, or online. For us, it’s going to be about these personalized, or private, appointments for customers.”
Federman stressed that the holiday shopping landscape isn’t one format over another. A customer’s journey may start online, but it can, and often does, end in a physical store. But the time spent in a store may be different from the shopping experience of the past. “People want to make the time spent in the physical as focused and as ultimately productive as it can be.”
During the pandemic, customers found it critical to adopt online banking solutions. As a result, innovations accelerated in the banking industry.
Now, technology is driving new trends in digital banking behaviors from customers who expect their online experience to match their in-branch experience.
So, how do banks and credit unions maintain the human element in their online banking experiences and turn a business feature into a differentiator? Nick Barnes, Practice Director for Financial Services at JRNI, and Thomas Novak, Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Visions Federal Credit Union, provided some insights.
“First and foremost, banks need to consider the emotional impact of their engagements with customers,” Barnes said. “From a digital standpoint, consumers demand more today than just speed and ease-of-access. They want to feel good about their interactions with technology, which requires an element of human connection. Banks can deliver meaningful, powerful, personalized experiences by using their existing data and everyday customer touchpoints.”
One keyword that Novak said Visions Federal Credit Union focuses on is empathy. “It all starts for us with the North Star, which is how do we put digital-first experiences out there for our members so that we can empower them towards financial independence? That’s how we’re going to blend the human and the digital aspect.”
Another critical focus for Novak and Visions is blending the digital and physical sides of banking seamlessly to make it intuitive for their members. No matter how they choose to do their banking, it’s an easy process. “Taking that approach to really think through how a member might go through a particular journey is central to that empathy and helps us build digital experiences that enable the fostering of empathy and improving the member experience.”
With signs pointing towards a slowing of the pandemic, the spotlight is on the emerging trends and patterns taking hold in the era of the post-pandemic shopper. To make sense of these trends and gain better knowledge and understanding of where retail will shift and what it needs to do to capitalize on new shopping behaviors, three retail thought leaders joined Experience Evolution. Jonathan Horemans, Head of Growth for Mercaux, Roger Sowerbutts, Global Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Go Instore, and Graeme Greenwood, VP of Product at JRNI, weighed in.
Once the pandemic hit, however, the need and desire for appointments accelerated, and companies now see the ability to pre-book or schedule meetings as an integral part of providing personalized service to consumers. John Federman, CEO of JRNI, tapped Cimarron Buser, Founder & CEO of TASBIA (The Appointment Scheduling & Booking Industry Association) to share his insights about these increasing needs.
JRNI is a platform for scheduling and managing personalized experiences for retail, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. John Federman, JRNI’s CEO, helped kick off the inaugural episode of The Experience Evolution with a conversation with host James Kent on how retail and financial industries can take their business to the next level by maximizing customer experiences.
Federman said consumers are demanding that retailers do more to get them back into the store as the pandemic begins its early stages of winding down.
“Shopping and commerce, itself, have already begun in earnest to become the experience economy,” Federman said. “Consumers want more than just a product or a service; they really want a unique experience.”
While the consumer experience is essential, another critical component that Federman said people don’t think about all the time is how the retailer or financial services institution can be as effective and efficient as they can be.
“How can deploy their staff in a way that their time is spent with consumers who are most likely to transact?,” Federman said. “That happens when you create that synergy between online and offline. And when you can get staff to know that they’re going to go to a more informed consumer, they’re going to be more engaged, transaction levels are going to go up, and your conversion experience will be just that; an experience.”
One vertical embracing digital transformation is banking, which began even before the pandemic. And this change is driven by the fact consumers want options - they want to interact with financial institutions on their terms, both remotely and in person. Recent studies indicate that 73% of consumers still prefer having in-person interactions with experts when receiving financial advice, and appointments can ensure the right staff member is available to help the consumer with their needs.
“So, it becomes about providing options,” Federman said. “In this case, what you can see is it’s not just about providing options, it’s about creating that experience that is more straightforward, more productive, and ultimately creates a better relationship long-term.”
Virtual appointments and virtual scheduling allow customers to maximize their time and get the information they need from experts who can help them.