KQ Article

If you pay attention to bestseller lists or changing consumer trends, the current happiness craze is hard to miss. It is also impacting the banking industry. This issue of The Deluxe Knowledge Quarterly sets out to explain why the notion of happiness matters so much to financial institutions right now.

One perspective comes from customer service expert Joe Calloway. For years, he has urged banks and credit unions to think more inside the box, by spending less energy coming up with new offerings and more energy on optimizing the products and services they already provide. In “Be the Best at the Basics,” his article on
page 12, he argues that this is particularly sage advice for these times. I once heard Joe share an example of inside-the-box-thinking that really stuck. For decades, people assumed that the design of the everyday t-shirt had been perfected. Then somebody stepped back and suspended all assumptions, and those itchy tags got replaced with washing instructions printed on the inside of the garments themselves. This simple change made people much happier. My kids stopped whining about their shirt collars!

As people continue to seek simpler experiences that promote happiness, they notice such subtleties. This is exactly where service professionals should be innovating. It all ties back to the customer experience — to being the best at delivering on basic expectations. It’s how you win today.

Speaking of boxes, new regulation is making it tougher to get outside of them, and will likely force financial institutions to rely more on subtle innovations for differentiation. The Deluxe Collaborative will soon get to the bottom of this issue by exploring the topic, “How to Thrive in the Regulated Climate of Banking.” We’re eager to hear their discoveries, which we will share at the Deluxe Knowledge Expos in 2011. Stay tuned.

_{© 2010 Tom Morefield}