Key Takeaways
- Engagement drives loyalty. Build a strategy that fosters strong customer relationships rather than solely focusing on transactions.
- Data and personalization are the most important tools for customer engagement in banking. Use them to understand customer needs and tailor offerings accordingly.
- Combine traditional relationship-building tactics with digital strategies for the best results across all channels.
Customer engagement is a necessity in banking. It’s the basis upon which trust, loyalty, and long-term relationships are built. By prioritizing customer needs, delivering better experiences, and leveraging data-driven insights, banks can differentiate themselves from competitors and see growth. This article shares detailed strategies for improving customer engagement and real-world examples of their successful implementation.
10 Customer Engagement Strategies for Banks
1. Personalized Experiences
Leverage data to craft highly personalized experiences that go beyond generic or one-size-fits-all offerings. A PwC survey found that consumers value flexibility in personalization—87% of respondents preferred this in areas like communication, loyalty programs and product recommendations. This personalized approach transforms interactions from transactional to relational, making customers feel valued and appreciated.
2. New Touchpoints
Explore new ways to connect with customers. Digital health platforms like dacadoo offer a unique opportunity to improve engagement, retention, and acquisition. dacadoo’s holistic approach creates deeper connections with customers; by integrating lifestyle-related components into their digital suite, banks can demonstrate a genuine interest in customers’ health and wealth. Features like personalized health insights, gamified challenges, and coaching complement customers’ financial goals.
3. Customer Journey Understanding
A better understanding of the customer journey will deepen customer relationships. Meticulously map out every interaction, from initial engagement to offboarding. Pinpoint the main touchpoints and identify pain points to optimize experiences and exceed customer expectations. For example, educational resources can be used to build authority and rapport with newly onboarded customers. A deep understanding of customer behavior empowers you to anticipate your customer’s needs and tailor offerings.
4. Multichannel Support
Deliver great customer support across channels like phone, email, live chat, social media, and in person. According to the same PwC survey, 51% of respondents would be less loyal if the online customer experience was worse than in person.
Equip agents with the tools and knowledge to provide consistent, efficient, and personalized help. Go a step further by making the transition between channels seamless. This omnichannel approach ensures customers can engage with the bank on their preferred platform, giving them control over their banking experience.
5. Rewards and Partnerships
Create a rewards ecosystem that goes beyond your competitor’s offer. Partner with retail, travel and entertainment businesses to offer exclusive perks, expanding your value-add beyond traditional banking services. Target customers using spending and lifestyle data points to make sure each person sees offers that are relevant to them. This approach makes customers feel acknowledged and appreciated, driving engagement.
6. Digital-First Approach
Optimize mobile and online banking for easy navigation, fast loading times, and intuitive features. Offer mobile-specific features like mobile payments, budgeting tools, and travel services to meet customer needs on the go. Expand your digital ecosystem with health technology like dacadoo to get a holistic view of your customers and use data insights to create segmentation and cross-selling opportunities.
7. Seamless Transitions
Create a better customer journey by making the digital-to-human interaction seamless. Provide convenience by offering both self-service tools and human support for more complex issues. Optimize your contact process—certain keywords should lead straight to human support and others to AI chatbots and self-service information. A smooth transition between digital and human channels reduces friction and creates a satisfying customer experience.
8. Data-Led Interventions
According to PwC, 82% of people would exchange personal data for a better customer experience. Use first-party data to anticipate customer needs and identify potential issues. Demonstrate a customer-centric mindset by addressing needs before they escalate. For example, proactively alerting customers to low account balances or upcoming bill payments to showcase a commitment to their financial well-being.
9. Predictive Analytics
Use data to anticipate customer needs and behaviors. Predictive analytics can identify patterns, trends, and potential churn risks. They also let you create personalized experiences by offering tailored recommendations—for example, predicting which customer segments may be interested in a new product. This data-driven approach leads back to personalization, the customer journey and overall engagement.
10. Trust and Communication
Provide clear and accessible information about products, fees, and terms to empower customers to make informed decisions. Utilize plain language and avoid industry jargon to make your content accessible to anyone. Regularly communicate updates, changes, and initiatives to keep customers informed and engaged.
Examples and Case Studies
Citi Boosts Customer Engagement with Real-Time Rewards
In a competitive rewards program landscape, Citibank (Citi) sought to enhance its ThankYou program by offering cardholders a seamless and convenient points redemption experience. It partnered with Mastercard to create Pay with Points, a real-time program that allows cardholders to redeem points directly at checkout. Pay with Points led to a significant increase in both the total number and size of redemptions. There was a 5.1% increase in overall engagement and sales activity for redeemers and a 2.1% increase in monthly total spend for redeemers. This demonstrates the engagement potential of a customer-centric rewards program.
Deutsche Bank Belgium Uses Personalization to Improve Engagement
Deutsche Bank Belgium sought to improve customer loyalty and engagement by implementing a personalized email marketing strategy. This involved segmenting customers based on factors like risk profile, investment habits, and branch location and using data to create personalized campaigns with relevant content and offers. Deutsche Bank’s personalized marketing strategy proved highly successful, resulting in a 50% average open rate—more than double the European banking sector average—and a 12% click-through rate. This shows that personalized marketing, based on customer data and segmented targeting, can be highly effective in improving engagement.
dacadoo: Your Partner in Customer Engagement
Customer engagement is a key component of a bank’s success. Banks can build stronger relationships by prioritizing personalization, data-driven insights, and a seamless customer journey. dacadoo offers a unique approach to customer engagement for banks by merging health and wealth management. Banks can differentiate themselves by placing health and financial well-being at the core of the customer experience. dacadoo’s Digital Health Engagement Platform (DHEP) lets banks create personalized journeys through insights, boost engagement through gamification, and drive cross-selling through health and lifestyle data. Through this, banks can really understand—and engage with—their customers.
