Forbes Council: Using CX to Attract the next generation of banking consumers

Evolving to embrace Gen Z consumers. For Gen Z, banking bears little resemblance to their parents’ experiences with one of the biggest differences being where and how financial institutions can reach younger customers. For this generation, it’s clear the appetite to learn about finance is there, but banks should serve this information up in new, innovative ways. Service providers should develop and serve authentic products that offer both value and education and engage this young audience on their platforms of choice.

Taking note of where Gen Z and CX needs converge. Banks also need to consider a fresh approach to the overall customer experience. One must-have service for banks catering to Gen Z is simple self-service. While self-service options can be incorporated into a mobile app, mobile apps certainly aren’t the end-all solution. In a culture of instant gratification, banks should offer other ways to provide near-instant solutions. If there is something customers can’t do through self-service, then you should make additional support readily available. For example, consider developing a chat bot or offering live agent support, either over the phone or via video call.

Optimizing additional CX channels. The key when adding channels—not just for younger customers, but for all demographics—is to optimize CX and to ensure the technology is integrated in such a way that if an inquiry needs to be escalated to an agent, the agent already knows what the customer’s problem is and what they can do to solve it. Beyond just the technology, optimizing to achieve a level of brand-defining customer service requires the right combination of people, systems, feedback loops and data analysis to drive optimization.