Contrails of Digital Value

We were at a movie this weekend and again the theatre we were in was totally empty, with the exception of us.?Ironically, James Cameron thanked “the audience” in a public service announcement prior to the film for “coming to see a movie the way it was intended to be viewed.”?Clearly, with 162 empty seats, and a few seats filled, different views exist as to how movies are intended to be viewed.?This situation reflects the stark reality of disruptive digital transformation - disruptive innovation fundamentally alters business models, and the ways consumers, businesses and industries operate.?The example I cite relates to entertainment and media where transformation is further advanced; the exact same changes however are currently taking root in finance and will have the same experiential impact.?

Transformation is defined as “a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.”?In using the phrase digital transformation in financial services therefore, significant change is being alluded to within institutions, within the industry, and with consumer behaviour. Institutions transform one by one.?The transformation of an industry occurs as incumbents transform, new entrants challenge, and consumer preferences migrate towards those who are magnifying value by adeptly leveraging digital.

This industry change is not homogenous - the notion of “being subject to disruption,” implies that the usual course of business is changing. ?In this environment, there are new entrants, incumbents that adapt, and legacy providers who exit and/or lose purview. True transformation does not occur on its own, but requires intent - a change in organizational stance and operation, the consideration of new business models, partnership with ecosystem peers, in addition to the innovative application of technology.?

In maintaining relevance, incumbent institutions must look both outward, and inward.?In reinventing experience, we are not moving linearly from “Customer Experience v1.0” to “Customer Experience v2.0” with respect to traditional internal value propositions, but rather using digital to magnify value and move beyond the way we have traditionally operated. ?Consumers are accustomed to rich digitally enabled experiences, across industry, and anything other than the same in finance will be received with apprehension. ?Digital experiences ought to be personalized, mattering when, where, and how for those partaking.

For financial institutions, we are luckily not dealing with technology that hasn’t been invented yet. ?Delivering rich experiences seamlessly spanning channels, propelled by network effect, connectivity, standards and data is within reach, and can be operationalized to augment value.?Financial institutions are also not in a situation where they need to “go it alone” - partners exist who can help stickhandle disruptive technology, align to customer and member experience, and deliver on its value proposition and promise. The future is truly now, and is being railed by those who intend on being disruptors and participating in the “space race” of magnified digital financial experience, leaving contrails of lasting value for their financial institution constituents.