What I Learned from Bank CMOs

Earlier this month I attended American Banker’s Financial Services Marketing Symposium in New York. There were a variety of sessions that covered topics such as customer centricity, the role of social media and mobile channels and how to create a differentiated customer experience. All were informative and interesting.

As everyone in the industry knows, banks are feeling the (sometimes conflicting) pressures of regulatory requirements and having to differentiate themselves in a highly commoditized market. Mark Hendrix, SVP, Director of Marketing at Fifth Third Bank echoed recent regulatory requirements including Durbin, Reg E, Card Reform, and Dodd-Frank amendment – which alone has 1200 provisions written into it.  

According to Hendrix, banks are reaching the end of the golden era, they need to change the playing field by embracing the consideration of customer engagement, including all processes, services and events impacting their banking activity. He's right: they need to be more operationally responsive. And on the flight home, one of the points I continued to think about was his sentiment that what is driving the balance sheet is the interaction with the customer.... giving them the right answer in the right moment.

This encapsulates what banks need to do to stay competitive, increase customer loyalty, and grow revenue.  Just as our customers know, Progress can help.