The advent of the digital age is undoubtedly linked with tailor-made offerings and services. In an era where rapid technological advancements have shaped the way consumers purchase and use different products, it has increasingly become more difficult for companies across all sectors to retain and gain customer loyalty. Thus, in an attempt to survive and with the rise of state-of-the-art technologies and data driven insights, the future of the financial sector is focused on one key aspect: personalization.
Personalization is not a new or ground-breaking concept, it is in fact all around us. On a daily basis, today’s customer interacts with platforms like Netflix, Amazon, TikTok and others that are heavily focused on hyper personalization across touchpoints.
Therefore, naturally as consumers are getting more accustomed with seamless and tailored experiences across touchpoints, they now expect the same level of personalization from their financial institutions. And while the idea might seem simple, the sector will need to move quickly on this to reap the full benefits.
Every day, financial institutions generate and sit on a huge amount of customer data that can be turned into competitive advantage. Harnessing this data could allow these institutions to gain powerful insights into their customers’ behaviours and aspirations. These same insights can be used to deliver the right product to the right customer at the right time.
Yet, for the most part this data is not being fully utilised to its full potential to deliver unique offers and products. So, how can we overcome this and fully embrace the era of personalization?
- Collaboration
Technology serves as the main enabler of this transformative shift. And because of the size and how financial institutions operate, speed and agility are usually one of their biggest constraints therefore collaborating with third parties that are quick to build and utilise available technologies to fuel personalization is key.
- Customer Education
While in Bahrain we have legislations and regulations that are in place to govern and support data sharing between financial institutions and third parties, customers need to be educated on the benefits of personalization and need to be empowered to take control of their own data.
- Continuous Improvements
Personalization is a journey not a destination. It’s important to recognize that while data models are impressive and powerful, they are not static. They require time to evolve, adapt and improve. As time goes on, the data model starts to refine its craft, adjusts its algorithms and adapts its predictions. Hence, focusing on continuously iterating the customer experience is essential to the success of your personalization strategy.
As we look ahead, it’s clear that the future of finance is in personalization, and it’s a future that holds a lot of promise and hope for customers and institutions alike.
