| Special
Report: Channeling Customers
All That's Left To Do Is The Work
By Pat Allen
The optimism in the following pages
is that customers can be directed to channels appropriate
for all involved. In "It's Time to Rationalize The Channels,"
Wachovia Corp. confronts what other institutions know
they are eventually going to have to come to terms with.
Do banks need to make all channels available to all customers?
Is it possible to turn some channels off, re-direct customers
and still maintain one's leadership as a customer-centric
institution? This is pioneering territory and rich with
possibility — rather than wait a few years for the
results, we're covering Wachovia's early thinking and
planning.
"Customer migration," of course, is
not to be confused with herding cattle. Customers are
going to have their preferences, and the industry's best
thinkers are recommending institutions optimize to those
preferences. The spirit of "Your Depositors Aren't Average"
is to understand preferences based on usage of payments
products. While every institution offers an array, there
is much to be learned about which customers favor which
one or two products. Such a segmentation scheme —
which consultant Steve Ledford says is achievable just
by analyzing internal data — offers the promise
of driving cross-selling results.
Identity theft-related incidents notwithstanding,
the Web offers customers better account security, says
James Van Dyke in "Deputizing The Customer." As opposed
to undermining the channel with mixed messages, Van Dyke
urges banks to promote customer participation.
|
|
| |
Special Report: Channeling Customers |
|
|
Customer service, customer preferences
and the customer's best interests — taken together,
these would seem to be just the right inputs for organizations
striving to channel their customers.
Questions
or comments about this article? Post them at the Banking
Strategies blog.
Ms.
Allen is managing editor of Banking
Strategies.
Copyright © 2005 by Banking
Strategies, published by BAI.
back
to top |
