Strategy
12/17/2018

How Data Can Build Trust With Customers

Jill Jacques
Chad Carmichael
Michael Schlechter


data-12-17-18.pngIn mid-August, driven by a cyberattack against ATMs that withdrew close to $11.5 million, the FBI sent out a warning to financial services companies that their organizations could be targeted. In another bleak headline, an Australian bank lost data on 12 million of its consumers—containing financial records from 2004-14—without disclosing it to customers.

Misuse of customer data is beginning to sound like business as usual to consumers.

Bank directors and senior leaders face a constantly evolving list of risks that can erode trust in their organizations. As we explored in the [first part of this series], these kinds of risk incidents drive other negative impacts, including increased expenses and customer attrition that stall bottom-line growth.

To combat the trend of declining trust, it’s critical that dedicated teams are enabled to address risk and regulatory compliance. However, effective recovery demands the entire organization to restore trust through a holistic risk-mitigation strategy focused on protecting and using customer data in a trustworthy way.

The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer highlights technology as a key enabler of trust in financial institutions, with fraud protection, use of technology to resolve customer issues, and mobile apps all cited as top drivers. Successfully deploying each of these elements commands a concerted focus on protecting customer data. Little things like requiring a complex password can signal the bank has the best interests of the customer—and the protection of his or her personal information—at heart.

By focusing on building trust through digital experiences and data, bottom-line impacts also will follow. For example, in a Forrester study on customer advocacy, customers of online banks performing well in customer advocacy tend to be more loyal: 80 percent of these customers believed they would choose that bank for their next financial product.
Bank directors and senior leaders can strengthen their bank’s business model, mitigate risk, and build trust through digital elements by empowering cross-functional teams to adhere to the following considerations:

Examine customer expectations. Customers’ digital expectations are relatively brand-agnostic. But it’s not a standalone channel, and how interactions are integrated into a more complex digital experience should be considered when forming a strategy.

Many studies have shown consumers prefer a combination of human and digital touchpoints. To build an effective customer engagement strategy, banks must enable customers in whichever channel they prefer. Doing so builds confidence, and ultimately trust—whether that be transferring funds or setting up a new account.

Mitigate risk by balancing security and design. While security measures have become increasingly important and key to establishing trust, they can also create user experience challenges. With voice-enabled search expected to comprise 50 percent of all internet searches by 2020, consumers will demand comparable capabilities from their banks—all supported by simple, streamlined interfaces. By ensuring that risk management, technology and digital design teams are finding common ground, banks can deliver a more seamless experience and reduce security concerns—giving customers the peace of mind that their finances and identity are protected.

Be a good custodian and user of customer data. Start with building a data management program with governing policies and procedures that support customer trust. Most consumers are on high alert for unapproved uses of their personal information. Banks should only ask for customer data when leadership can articulate where and how it adds value in a transparent way.

To start, banks can look across sub-sector domains like wealth management. Vanguard, one of the top customer advocacy performers in Forrester’s study, uses customer data to offer personalized investment advice to customers via mobile app, while also clearly defining the ways it uses that data on its website. By responsibly and transparently using data, banks can establish customer trust through tailored experiences.

By pairing a holistic data and risk management strategy focused on digital, banks will not only reverse the trend of waning customer trust, but also strengthen a business model equipped to thrive in the heightened risk environment in which retail banks operate today.

This article is the third in a series on building trust in financial services. Read the first two on building customer trust through experience design and creating empowered, more rewarding employee interactions.

Jill Jacques

Chad Carmichael

Michael Schlechter