THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS' DIGITAL TRANFORMATION

Over the last 15–20 years, banks and other financial intermediaries have invested in the internet and mobile as primarily transactional channels ancillary to those used to conduct customer relations (counters, branches, advisers, etc.). The aim was to shift low-added-value operations onto the channels that cost the organisation less.

But the market has now changed rapidly, on both the demand and the supply side, through:

• pervasive technological change at consumer level
• consolidation of “digital” behaviour across a broad and growing customer/prospect base
• accompanying decline in the role of “physical” channels (in terms of number of visits/contacts)
• financial players’ clear need to slash their “cost to serve” and to create fresh revenue streams

In that light, the new touchpoints with customers can no longer be managed at a commercial, technical and organisation level as if they were independent ancillary channels. Moving to an “omni-channel” approach means understanding that customers do not see multiple channels but, rather, a single company contactable in different ways according to need and to the context. It also means overcoming the following current limitations:

• organisational and commercial structures that are still focused on “traditional” channels (marketing and communications, sales, product development, planning and control, etc.)
• inadequacies in acquiring, organising and handling data (independent “silos”, with information not collected or not used).

Reply drives digital developments in the financial-services sector

This critical transition is radically changing the distribution and service models, and Reply is supporting financial institutions by accelerating innovation and channelling it into practical, sustainable business solutions.

In particular, through e*finance consulting Reply and the other group companies focused on innovation through technology, Reply is supporting banks, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries in all the main strands of their digital transformation:

• establishing an “omni-channel” commercial strategy
• devising and designing new service models (remote management, mobile networks, etc.)
• designing and developing touchpoints
• organising and structuring data and information for various commercial uses (CRM, big data, etc.)
• product development for acquisition and selling
• digital processes for physical and self-service channels

Amid such fast and far-reaching change, the key factors are strategic clarity and execution capability. Reply brings our network’s specialist expertise to bear as part of a clear vision of the way forward on 3 core paths:

• Data: acquiring data and information from all touchpoints and centralising and processing it into "structured knowledge"
• CRM: establishing the various marketing, sales and customer-care processes and platforms across all channels to support the customer journey
• Touchpoints: creating user experiences that are efficient (cost to serve), effective (acquisition and selling) and engaging across all customer touchpoints.