Targeting Next Generation Banking Customers by Amy Johnson, Vice President, Financial Services, Proxicom
Today's young banking customers-25 to 45 years of age-are more sophisticated and savvy than their parents. Cash-rich and time poor, these consumers have blurred the boundaries between work and home-often paying bills at work, while reading work-related materials at home. Juggling more complex schedules, their time is more fragmented and uncertain than ever before.
Highly mobile, these target customers are extremely comfortable integrating new technologies into all aspects of their lives. Accustomed to traveling for everything from work to shopping, they are part of a global culture supported by the mass media and the rise of global brands. In general, this so-called "global middle class" is affluent, culturally aware, and rapidly growing in numbers throughout the world.
Able to compare banks with a click of the mouse, these customers are less loyal and more demanding. They expect banks to both 'get with it' regarding customer service and quit acting as if their customers' deposits are their private funds. When applying for a new product, these customers are unwilling to supply their personal information with a bank that already maintains these records from an established account. The expectation is that the bank is responsible for notifying the various departments when there is an address or name change. These customers don't want to be charged if their accounts are marginally overdrawn, when there are significant savings in other accounts with the same banks. They expect that the bank has taken the necessary steps to integrate all their internal processes and communication channels-both new and traditional-in order to provide fast and easy service.
It was with this consumer group in mind that Proxicom assisted Abbey National, one of the UK"s top commercial banks, in creating a new kind of banking entity-"cahoot." Aptly named, cahoot strives to create a one-on-one relationship with each customer. The cahoot solution is committed to harnessing the attributes of each commonly used interactive channel; therefore cahoot deepens its relationships with each individual customer, while providing sustainable low pricing. From the start, cahoot focused their mandate on providing 'anywhere banking', moving far-beyond the common perception of 'home banking' or 'PC banking.'
In conceptualizing cahoot, Proxicom identified which particular channels the customer base relied upon most often and provided the highest comfort level. Rather than attempt to provide functionality across all channels, the project team analyzed the core attributes of each commonly used channel-Web, mobile phone (text messaging and WAP), contact center, interactive voice recognition, interactive TV, and ATMs-in relation to the size, privacy, security, and use of each interface in situations that demanded immediate action or were highly complicated. Based on this analysis, Proxicom then outlined the appropriateness of each path in the channel map.
The cahoot solution recognized that applying the appropriate channel was only half of the equation in providing a superior customer experience. To complement these channels, cahoot uses state-of-the-art customer relationship management systems. These systems ensure that customers feel the 'human touch' from this totally virtual bank. cahoot's contact center is available 24 hours, seven days a week, and is staffed with knowledgeable representatives who are comfortable with the technology and able to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Making the cahoot customer friendly demanded that the back-end processes and systems be tightly integrated. Recognizing that customers wanted the benefits of straight-through processing (STP), which allows customers to carry out transactions more seamlessly, Proxicom spent a significant amount of time and strategic thought to redesign the banking processes and infrastructure.
In the end, cahoot offers all customers a 'trigger messaging' functionality, allowing customers to create personalized alerts about account activities and access from a personal home page, e-mail, or text messaging. These alerts might include anything from "let me know when I've receive a deposit of more than $1,500 in my checking account" to "let me know five days before my credit card payment is due." Features like this are just one of many that transform banking from an appointment on a calendar to a simple task that takes as much time as writing a check.
The creation of a one-to-one relationship with individual customers demanded that cahoot's product offerings and pricing remain highly customizable. Despite its innovative features, cahoot strives to be extremely competitive by offering sustainable and competitive pricing.
While the entire effort was built around a virtual bank model using wireless and other multi-channel concepts, the underlying business model sticks to proven basics-premier customer service, rapid and accurate transaction processing, and user-driven flexibility. So far, the cahoot approach has proven to be a winning one. As of March 2001, 125,000 accounts have been opened since cahoot went live in June 2000. Based on initial research, the contact center receives over 10,000 customer e-mails each week and the cahoot name has achieved 46% brand awareness, well above the original target at launch of 25%; 71% of customers rate cahoot's service as "good" or "very good" and this multi-channel bank is on track to break even within three years of launch.
Given its immense success, cahoot now serves as an example for other banks that want to align their services and offerings with today's younger banking customers. More demanding and selective, the global middle class customers of today are developing relationships with those banks that provide services revolving around their busy schedules. cahoot's success, attributed to a customer-centric approach, multi-channel accessibility and tailored services, clearly demonstrates to the banking community that anywhere banking is not just 'a good idea' but rather a future economic necessity.
Amy Johnson has spent over 10 years in the financial services industry and possesses nearly 20 years of systems integration experience. She is a well-seasoned technologist in a broad array of financial services segments including insurance, brokerage, retail and international banking. Owing to her background, she is a valuable advisor to clients on matters related to business and technology decisions ranging from transactional e-business to multi-channel applications.
Since 1999 Johnson has held a position as Vice President with Proxicom, a leading e-business consulting firm, serving in the Chief Operating Officer's office developing the company's infrastructure for methodology, business development, and operational processes. Currently, Johnson is providing her leadership to the Financial Services practice, responsible for managing and directing the global activities related to Proxicom's top producing group. She oversees a broad range of client engagements in capital markets, asset management, insurance, treasury, custody, fixed income, retail and commercial banking. Prior to this assignment she managed the Operations and Financial Services for Proxicom's Western region.
Before joining Proxicom, Johnson worked in Accenture's Financial Services practice in the New York region and London, serving clients in the brokerage, insurance, commercial banking, and international banking industries.
Johnson earned her M.B.A. in Information Systems and Finance, and a B.S. in Marketing, Magna Cum Laude, from New York University. She is a member of the San Francisco Commonwealth Club and New York University's Beta Gamma Sigma. During her leisure time she is an award-winning photographer and wine enthusiast. She resides in the San Francisco area.
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