Fusion's Smart Banking Playbook

Let's face it. Australia's big four banks aren't about to ease up their game to allow smaller competitors any more possession of the banking sector. Given the chance, they will use their muscle to dominate the game their way, every time.

That's why you have to play a different game to win in the banking sector. One that is on your own terms, playing to your strengths, playing the game YOUR way. You need agility, tenacity and a willingness to experiment. We have seen results come to those banks that can open up new opportunities, weave around the biggest players and leverage the crowd to create devastating advantage.

So while your competitors are facing the challenges of today, get your coach, captain and team ready for something new. Use a strategic game plan that creates a new way to play the game - a game made for tomorrow.

Play to Win: 10 strategic plays to sidestep the big banks.

Play #1: Your people are your secret weapon. Empower them for valuable interactions.

Regardless of your team colours, it's the people wearing them that matters most. Yet there is every chance they'll be spending the majority of their time making basic plays that could be automated for ease and efficiency. The value of customer service hasn't dated, but expectations levels have risen to championship levels for all brands. Free up your key players to fully utilise their skills and expertise. You're going to need smart people to spot the gaps and clear the lines - assisted by tech that carries the kitbags and keeps the pitch pristine.

Play #2: Small is no longer a punt. It's a draft pick opportunity.

Rapid changes in technology are slowly but surely disrupting the rules of the game for even the largest of banks. Smaller purpose driven players are popping up everywhere. People are looking local. They are looking for authentic brands as an alternative to the corporate big box approach. It is possible for micro-businesses to prosper from a kitchen table as their office. While the big four banks are busy pitching their battles at each other (and government), there's a space to cut inside. Find the gaps that will allow you to deliver value based services, a touch of team-bonding and the support that comes from smaller business players.

Play #3: Leverage and connect the knowledge and energy of your customers.

As a team, the last thing you need is disappointed supporters leaving before the end of the game. Their dedication and belief needs to be rewarded. Engage their passion to push you forward - ask their opinions, get them to test and then reward them for their input. Purpose-driven people tend to align with others that chant a familiar song. The smartest teams are those that create communities, who unite members with other members. Unsurprisingly, they are already motivated by a common cause - all you need to do is make them fanatical about your team, your cause, and your song. 

Play #4: Strengthen the team with meaningful alliances before taking on the bigger teams.

The new game is the shared game. Customers don't think or even care about the silos that sit inside your financial institution. They are looking for ways to simplify the services they have to deal with. Buddy up with a partner that can add differential value to your customers lives before pulling on your game-day boots. Create an opportunity to take a home loan bundled with a couple of years worth of Internet connectivity and a new TV? How about a car loan with free car insurance? 

Play #5: Know your customers' next move before they do.

We are getting prompts about friend's birthdays before we even remember to send them a card. Your customers are busy, and they are only getting busier as technology allows them to squeeze more into their day. New players are creating financial service propositions that weave artificial intelligence, machine learning and conversational interfaces. Set up your services so they automatically appear when and where people need them. Not convinced that bots play nicely with people? There's an ATM in every town that says they already do.

Play #6: Be the first to coach your customers to meet their goals.

The big four banks are happy to keep their supporters as slaves to record levels of personal debt. Surprisingly in Australia no one has championed a truly sustainable model of everyday financial coaching. Globally, three-quarters of banks are investing in customer intelligence. The data on those that matter most to your team is getting richer and the ability to create actionable insights is getting cheaper, quicker and easier. Imagine a smart bank where every customer is a winning as they are coached towards financial freedom.

WILD CARDS: PLAYS FOR TOMORROW'S GAME

Play #7: Reinvent your bank as a suite of data rich API's.

With the rise of chat-bots and robo-advisors driven by artificial intelligence, it's not much of a stretch to think that soon there will be a smart bank playing without any people on the field. Technology is removing the need for human-processed transactional interactions - a portfolio designed by a deep learning algorithm may get better returns than a financial advisor. If you have the infrastructure, the license and the permission to play maybe your bank is better off as a set of trophy winning API's for other teams to augment. Could this be a smart way to play a different game, a game that dominates your competition?

Play #8: Keep customers onside with interactions that engage all their senses.

Remember the adrenaline you feel during the game: reeling with the highs and lows. Will there be a time when a customers experience never gets low? As interfaces become invisible with speech, gestures and motion becoming default methods to interact can a bank leverage this to create great experiences? Wearable fabrics and biometric authentication point towards sensory driven experiences of our financial life. Imagine receiving a real tingle of excitement as your latest pay drops into your account.

Play #9: Paint a personalised vision of success for every one of your supporters.

With platforms like Facebook and Google profiting significantly from the monetisation of our personal data could our imaginations become the next big currency? The ability to create, interact and explore virtual and mixed reality experiences is rapidly becoming mainstream. It's now possible to paint in 3D within these virtual worlds. The smart bank of tomorrow could recreate itself daily in a personalised manner for it's individual customers - allowing people to step inside when and how they like. Blindside the opposition by placing your customers within their own money. What does standing next to $100,000 in cash actually feel like?In the same way architects use 3D models and video fly-overs to help clients understand their vision, your customers could move through their assets and play through multiple scenarios of their financial future.

Play #10: No longer a strategic offensive, mobile banking is the standard defence.

The idea of a single place to do your banking is long gone. The playing field now appears via the desks, palms, laps and wrists of people across Australia. Those teams without a mobile banking strategy can ill-afford to consider other plays at this point in the game. A mobile strategy is one of the few guarantees of being in your supporter's zone of consideration. The mobile experience is a valuable and branded reminder of the relationship customers have with your bank. As customers manage more of the core areas of their lives with these powerful portable devices they expect more than just replicating the utility of other channels. How strong is your defence?

Go on the offensive as a smart bank and PLAY TO WIN.

Visit: fusion.com.au/playtowin

__________________

Fusion made it's first mobile banking application back in 2007 and has been on the forefront of mobile banking development in Australia for almost a decade. Our current mobile banking application integrates with Core Banking Systems and currently serves some of the largest credit unions and smarter banks in Australia. 

Get in touch if you want to side step the big four banks and create your own digital playbook that drives competitive advantage.