Using mobile banking personalization to enhance customer experience.

In any banking entity, there is huge diversity in customer needs. The customer range cuts across from young to old, poor and rich, gender differences and even religious differences. For a long time, banks have been categorizing customers into a few groups. They majorly include Micro, SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and Corporates. These categories cuts across most banks. The key decider into which category a customer fits is mostly based on their account turnovers. This categorization however has remained relevant to date. It has had its levels of strengths and weaknesses. One key advantage to this classification is the ability to develop products and services fitting each category. These includes account types, credit facilities categorization and type of digital product to adopt.

This differentiation indicates diversity in bank customers. Over time, there are customers who have remained disadvantaged because of the group mentality. Offering services in a group approach leads to some customers being given products and services they don’t need. It also results to customers being denied services they may need. To address this, banks are looking into the latest digital device, mobile banking. In any commercial entity, customer is the king and customer experience should be priority. Through enhancement of data utilization and artificial intelligence, consumer habits are being evaluated daily. This information is giving a view into customer life and needs. What this means is that we are getting away from the old customer grouping approach to customization. Ultimately access to mobile banking will be customized. Customers will only access services they are highly likely use. Case scenario why would a savings customer have access to a withdrawal option on their phone. By giving customer access to the only services they need, customer satisfaction is greatly enhanced as the experience is seamless. Great customer satisfaction means that the bank can mine more business from the clients and the relationship will be long lasting.

Going forward, banks must heavily invest in achieving this level of customer experience else customer loyalty will diminish. Great customer experience and satisfaction will be the core factors success of banks in the days ahead. This complemented by the already existing product competitive advantages including convenience, affordability and reliability will make mobile banking a key product in enhancing good customer experience. By filling these gaps created through the banks approach of grouping, there will be value created to both the customer and the bank.

By,

Robert Kariuki,

[email protected]