KQ Article

We all know that the economy, our industry and our customers have changed. How do we act on this common knowledge?

There are certainly more rules in play that feel confining. But there are also new customer behaviors and expectations that open exciting opportunities for financial institutions, rather than simply limiting growth. People are reconsidering their deeply held beliefs about banking. It is changing how they want to interact with you — and how you must interact with them.

It also appears that more consumers are shopping for a new financial institution right now. In the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Retail Bank New Account Study (see page 6), 8.7 percent of customers surveyed said that they switched their primary bank or credit union during the past year, up a full percentage point from the prior year. Respondents also compared an average of 1.9 financial institutions while shopping around, up from 1.6 banks in 2010.

What does this mean? It means that now more than ever, it pays to intimately know your strengths and the new needs of those you serve. We’re back to basics again, and this time it’s for keeps. You should be obsessing like never before about identifying what you’re best at and whom you best serve. When you’re one of those 1.9 finalists being considered by a wandering customer, it must be crystal-clear why you are the obvious choice.

This issue of The Deluxe Knowledge Quarterly explores fundamental yet highly effective ideas for knowing yourself and your customers or members better, along with useful strategies for swiftly converting new accounts into active ones. People are in a much different place now, and the most successful financial institutions will meet them there — better yet, beat them there.

I invite you to read on.


Tom Morefield
President, Deluxe Financial Services

_{© 2010 Tom Morefield}