The ability to access data faster and from anywhere in the world is empowering consumers to use technology to redefine the way they interact with the world. This technological innovation is fuelling disruption within the financial services industry as consumer’s expectations change and companies look to tailor their offerings to the digital economy. The potential to change the entire way consumers interact with businesses, from the research and selection of products/services through to the purchasing, fulfilment and customer services is causing fast paced change and disruption. CIOs and CFOs are under pressure to understand and adapt to the ways this is changing the financial services industry to ensure their company remains competitive while managing the transition and business processes efficiently.

Marketing & Pricing Digital Consumer Behaviour

One of the first disruptions that the internet age brought to the financial services industry was the introduction of price comparison websites. These radically altered the way that consumers researched the products and services they bought by giving them an instantaneous analysis of thousands of different products, services and companies tailored to their needs. Consumers now have a much broader pool of information to research and make decisions from requiring businesses to adapt their marketing and pricing models to match this expectation.

Transactional and Process Digital Consumer Behaviour

From a transactional perspective, technology has changed the way that consumers view their relationship with their bank. In a previous blog post, we highlighted how consumers are moving their banking transactions to online or mobile apps rather than via a branch and this trend is likely to continue with a demand for faster transaction speeds and more convenient options. The way that consumers pay for goods and services has continued to evolve. Bitcoin and blockchain technologies have hit the headlines, but it is contactless, and mobile technology that are having an immediate impact on consumers. The economy is seeing a decline in cash transactions and demand to pay by debit card for a range of goods and services that have traditional been exclusively cash transactions. Over the next 10, years cash transactions are expected to fall by 30%. A real world example of this is contactless payments on the London Underground network, where the introduction of this technology has led to hundreds of thousands of contactless transactions every day. Eliminating the need for paper tickets or to top-up prepayment cards increases the efficiency of the system for TFL and gives consumers a faster and more convenient way of using the service.

Customer Service Digital Consumer Behaviour

The way that consumers interact with their financial services providers is also changing, rather than traditional branch visits or telephone banking. Consumers are demanding more convenience and self-service. There are also changing dynamics for the communication platforms they use to interact. Customers share their experiences on more open and visible platforms including social media. Leading to innovations in the support platforms offered across the sector with platforms such as live chat, social media and email gaining in adoption and popularity.

VIP Apps Consulting has extensive experience within the leasing and financial services industry with the knowledge capabilities and operational track, to help organisations implement the process changes, optimisation and innovation to realise the financial value in a customer driven market. 

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