Banks shouldn’t expect love from customers says Volt Bank co-founder
Banks shouldn’t be expecting love from their customers, instead they should focus on providing a good service and knowing what customers need, co-founder and deputy CEO at Volt Bank, Luke Bunbury, said.
“Many institutions have actually got it wrong, we shouldn’t expect customers to love us because that is just the wrong emotion to pair with your financial services provider.
Bunbury said Banks have actually got it wrong
“The days of ads filled with happy families where everything the bank does is perfect with doves taking flight from pristine lakes are gone, if they ever existed.
“Customers are looking for much more from us as a sector and as institutions. They want us to be there every step of the way and to help them achieve their goals, to be outcome orientated, to be responsive, to be non intrusive yet intuitive and focused on solutions.
“They are far more likely to reward this and increase their loyalty as a result,” Bunbury added.
Speaking to a room of marketers at Mumbrella’s Finance Marketing Summit, Bunbury said consumers have moved on and have evolving needs from their banks but most banks haven’t realised this yet.
“Banks and financial services can no longer differentiate themselves by having better branches, more bankers or better call centres.
“The consumers have moved on, but funnily enough many banks haven’t realised this change is upon them.
“The fact is most customers would do anything they could to avoid walking into a branch or speaking to a call centre.”
Bunbury warned that banks will struggle once they realise times are changing and consumers have different needs.
“But not only have the incumbents not necessarily realised that yet, let alone adjusted their models to recognise that fact, when they do, the struggle for them is going to be very very difficult because these businesses have been basically set up to manufacture product and then sell them.”
Co-founding Volt Bank last year, Bunbury said most banks have the same offering with the same products and distribution has now become a commodity rather than a point of difference.
“Scratch below the brand surface on most products that are out there today and essentially the products are pretty much the same.
“It has been centred around distribution being the key point of difference where people would win the battle ground but this has all changed.
“Distribution is now the commodity, we carry it around, all of you have got it in your hands today, the smartphone is now a distribution model for financial services and so many other sectors that we are all involved in pretty much every day,” Bunbury added.
Bunbury said the financial sector is now about the journey customers are on and helping customers achieve those
“There are many more things that a customer needs to establish itself financially.
“It is now about the journey that customers are on. The way that we help them stay on track, the way that we help them achieve the goals they have set for themselves.”
Acknowledging the trust issues within the financial sector, the co-founder of Volt Bank said only 31% of Australians have a positive view of banks.
“The reality is, the trust issues affect the whole sector and so we will need to be part of the rebuild of that trust and confidence.
“We are no longer talking about dissatisfaction, we are talking about distrust, which is a very different proposition and no doubt it is a long and steep climb out of there.”
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