The mobile banking revolution is well underway. A 2016 study by Radon, declares that the number of mobile banking apps has risen to 69% among millennials and 41% overall. As more customers make the switch, many are taking the opportunity to reconsider their existing relationships with traditional banks. The convenience of mobile banking also means customers are free to try new institutions at almost no risk or cost. Banks looking to keep their customers need to make feature engagement a priority-one success metric. Fintech provider Fiserv, found that greater engagement in banking apps has not only been linked to lower attrition, but also increased product holdings among services like loans and securities. It’s a short-term effort with long term benefits, and with attention spans at an all-time low, financial institutions are actively pursuing new ways of capturing customer interest.
Here are some of the most effective ways banks can encourage customers to adopt their latest updates.
#1 Enlisting Branch Staff
In-person interactions still represent a material percentage of a bank’s overall customer touch points. The majority of these are related to more sophisticated services like loans, investments and securities trading. Banks take advantage of these highly personal exchanges by having their branch staff promote their newest mobile banking features. “A high percentage of people said they first heard of mobile deposit from branch staff,” says Jim Van Dyke, CEO of the analyst firm Futurion. “They can help with adoption. That message needs to get out.”
#2 Leveraging Owned Display Advertising
Financial institutions take advantage of ATM and web displays to promote new mobile product features. The times before a customer enters their personal banking information or waits for cash are valuable opportunities for communicating new and exciting product details. The first moments of a mobile banking session are often used to keep customers informed. Banks end these promotions with calls-to-action that link users directly to the functionality in question. As a result, users return for their next session equipped with the knowledge they need to get value out of the app’s newest innovations.
#3 Highlighting Convenience
All industries are trending towards faster, more flexible interactions. On-demand products and services have become the rule rather than the exception. The more banks can highlight how their features embody that mentality, the better. Anything that requires users to navigate overly bureaucratic process or adjust their schedule to accommodate the vendor will be written off as a waste of time.
#4 Addressing Safety Concerns
Despite worldwide migration to tech-based solutions, safety and security still loom large in customers’ minds. A study by the Federal Reserve found that only 8 percent of respondents felt mobile banking was “very safe” while a remaining 77% felt it fell somewhere between “somewhat safe” and “very unsafe.” 15 % said they simply didn’t know. Banks still need to dedicate a percentage of their promotional messaging to explaining how they’re ensuring the privacy and safety of customer banking information. Simple security assurances are often enough to waylay most concerns.
#5 Reducing Fees
Assigning ROI to the development and maintenance of features like mobile check deposit can be difficult. Transaction fees offer a clear justification for the expense. Banks like Regions and U.S. Bank imposed them when they first launched the feature, but many have doubled back on that decision. Regions still charge customers to immediately access their newly deposited funds, but now offer a no-charge two-day delayed mobile deposit. U.S. Bank has removed many of fees for consumer bankers, only charging business accounts once they’ve passed a 20 deposit threshold within a given statement period. Payment walls and surcharges damage adoption rates. Banks that still impose them are only widening the gap between themselves and those that quickly recognized the truth: that it was their responsibility to adapt to customer preferences. Not the other way around.
#6 Removing Transaction Limits
Setting restrictions on mobile interactions will keep users from jumping on board. This is especially true when those limits prevent the most valuable customers from fully utilizing mobile banking products. Removing or raising limits from mobile deposits, bill payments and any other transactional features allows for wide-spread customer participation, promotes positive word-of-mouth and ensures they won’t be wasting resources advertising new features that some customers would have little use for.
#7 Replicating Familiar Experiences
The mere exposure effect is a behavioral phenomenon where humans experience positive feelings towards something simply because they’ve seen it before. The enemy of adoption is always the innate fear of change, so banks do their best to liken new features to familiar ones. Paper-based processes have been a safe bet, but they’re getting less relevant every day. Younger demographics are better served by comparing new features to digital interactions made popular by games or social media apps.
The barriers may seem high, but the results are worth it. Engaged customers are better retained and more likely to communicate positive experiences to their peers. As financial institutions continue their mobile innovation efforts, they’ll continue spend just as much effort keeping customers informed of their achievements. As a result, their customers will be repaying them for years to come.