By Ally Akins
Customer relationship management systems have become a powerful tool for bankers across both sales and marketing functions, but it hasn’t always been a smooth road. Real estate, professional services, and B2B sales industries have long been advanced adopters of CRM technology, but the banking industry has been slower to follow, the technology integration within bank’s data warehouses and core platforms has taken some time to overcome, and getting bankers on-board and bought into the value has been a challenge. Now that more banks are ready to invest in or focus on use of their existing CRM, prioritizing the right use cases and focusing on increased engagement and usage will be key drivers to making sure bank marketers and sales leaders get all the benefits of a CRM.
The most recent results from the January ABA Marketing Technology and AI Survey, which collected feedback from 93 bank marketers, show that CRM has become the most used marketing technology. However, there are still over half of respondents not currently using CRMs.
Current CRM use in the banking industry
CRMs are the most used marketing technology, with 48- percent of respondents using the tool. CRMs also had the second-highest rating of comfortability among bankers for marketing technology tools. An additional 24 percent of respondents said that they were planning to acquire CRMs in the next 12 months.
When asked about the most effective use cases for CRMs, bank marketers highlighted customer experience and communication, sales and marketing.
CRMs have a significant ability to track and improve the customer experience through detailed and transparent reporting across teams. Sales functionality is also more efficient, with automated onboarding and easier access to cross-selling opportunities. Marketing was also highlighted as a priority use case. Contact list management is easier, streamlining the process of launching and deploying targeted marketing campaigns. Tracking and reporting are also important use cases within CRMs, giving bank marketers the most pertinent data and analytics related to sales and performance for around-the-clock campaign optimization.
In addition to the use cases mentioned in the survey responses, there are significant use cases for marketers to improve their sales campaigns using CRMs:
- Improved customer segmentation: CRMs can help bank marketers segment their customers into different groups based on their demographics, behaviors, and needs. This allows marketers to target their marketing campaigns more effectively and increase their ROI.
- Personalized marketing: CRMs can help bank marketers create personalized marketing campaigns that are tailored to the individual needs of each customer. This can help to improve customer engagement and conversion rates.
- Improved customer service: CRMs can help bank marketers provide better customer service by tracking customer interactions and providing a single view of the customer across all channels. This can help to resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.
Fully optimizing CRMs
For the last two decades, many banks have struggled to make the most of all of CRM’s features and functionalities, with only 12 percent of respondents ranking CRMs as the most effective tool for improving marketing value. Of the respondents who use CRMs, only 8.6 percent of banks responded that there is widespread adoption and understanding of the CRM’s features and functionalities. The results and effect of CRMs have been minimized by the lack of usage and understanding of their benefits.
To avoid some of the common pitfalls of implementing a CRM and suffering from less-than-stellar results, banks need to be able to prioritize effective use cases and identify and use the talent that is willing to be a ‘super-user.’
Key considerations for understanding and improving implementation:
- Do the end-users understand and see the benefits of the tool and platform? What education and resources can we provide to improve this?
- What is the size of the opportunity represented by engaging further with existing customers? What is the biggest use case for using CRM and how can we pilot it?
- Who are our ‘super-users’ and what can they teach our salesforce?
- Is the data working as it should? Can the CRM be our single source of truth and be recognized for its accuracy?
Future effect of CRMs
CRMs have the potential to enhance a wide array of processes for bank marketers. Their ability to enhance personalization, sales, processes and customer service can be leveraged to increase efficiency and drive business growth.
The most recent survey found that 67 percent of respondents want to see their organization adopt a CRM with AI capabilities in the future. An AI embedded within a CRM can assist with campaign optimization, lead generation, customer segmentation and automating customer interactions.
For banks that currently use a CRM or are planning to in the next twelve months, the key to increased usage is to start small. Consider pilot and bite-sized campaigns to encourage use across teams and departments. For banks that are struggling to encourage use among bankers, start with a test group of “super users” or those who are familiar or comfortable with the program, and encourage training and information sharing with their peers.
Conclusion
While CRMs are increasingly used, there is clearly an upside for bank marketers and sales leaders to implement, use and optimize their CRMs more successfully. The benefits of deeper customer relationships and enhanced sales productivity are clear.
Ally Akins is a consultant at Capital Performance Group, a strategic consulting firm that assists banks in making the most of their customer data. She can also be reached on LinkedIn.
