The same consumers who expect to receive their online clothing order within a day and visibility into the precise location of their pending pizza order, are also making B2B buying decisions. And they’re demanding more options, more consistency, and less friction.
Companies that put their customer at the center of what they do -- and aim to delight them with differentiated experiences -- create lasting customer loyalty.
Management consulting firms large and small have stood up client experience (CX) practices. My LinkedIn feed is filled with memes and articles touting the importance of CX. Books, podcasts, conference presentations, and new CX-related job titles are emerging by the day.
Yet, CX still does not always get the credit it deserves as a powerful lever in driving company value.
Private equity (PE) firms, for example, are known as leading experts in identifying value. Yet, when I ask PE colleagues and friends about the key metrics they use in evaluating a company, I hear about profit margin, debt-to-equity, market share, customer acquisition cost, and a slew of other financial metrics long before I hear about client satisfaction -- if it ever comes up. Announcements around the sale of a company into a portfolio such as this also tend to focus on expense reduction and increased margins and miss the mark on impacting customers and employees.
Community financial institutions 'get it.'
On the contrary, community banks are leading the charge in understanding the importance of client experience to their success. They’re embracing technology to level the playing field with larger competitors – adding offerings, simplifying processes, and personalizing the customer experience. They’re also outperforming competitors by creating responsive, client-centric cultures, prioritizing the customer experience, and empowering team members to deliver exceptional service.
And they do all of these things not because it's trendy, but because they care about their customers and know the importance of CX on driving value for their bank. Whether serving a community for decades or months, community banks tend to understand the need to make every customer interaction a great one.
We've seen banks within our community hire or promote CXOs, conduct surveys, host user group meetings and apply customer data to inform their go-to-market strategy.
With products increasingly commoditized, CX has become an equal, if not greater, differentiator than the features and benefits of a product or service. It drives referrals from existing clients and is essential for retention, both of which are critically important to the long-term success of any company.
BankOnIT is intentional about aligning ourselves with, and for, the banking community. It’s where we came from, it’s who we serve and it’s an industry that shares our CX values.
--
Dana Adams is BankOnIT’s, Chief Marketing Officer. After a 20+ year career in banking, she joined BankOnIT in 2021, having identified a company whose leadership, team members, and clients share her passion for driving business value by delivering differentiated experiences.