It’s no secret that most people bank with multiple institutions at a time. According to a recent survey, only 19% of retail banking customers held three or more products besides a checking account with their primary bank. This means that companies operating in this sector have ample scope for improvement for spiking up their profits. One of the essential capabilities that players in the retail banking market must consider is working on their cross-selling abilities. Given the larger picture, cross-selling can improve the bottom line for retail banking, wonder how? The incremental cost of selling to existing customers is much lower than acquiring new ones. Furthermore, cross-selling is an excellent way for retail banking companies to develop customer relationships and generate revenue from lower-cost targets. We have identified four ways in which banks can improve their cross-selling performance.
Focus on the Lowest Hanging Fruit
The simplest way to make a sale to an existing customer is through engagement services that help customers use an account they already own. These services that are a part of most financial institution’s customer onboarding programs include a debit card, online banking, mobile banking, direct deposit, bill pay, automatic savings transfer, personal line of credit, and security solutions such as privacy protection. These retail banking services help ensure that the customer will use the products they own more often. Consequently, the customer retention of retail banking companies will improve along with the overall customer experience.
Contact our retail banking analytics experts to learn more about the cross-selling techniques that can be used by retail banking companies to stay ahead of the curve and beat the competition.
Build Customer Relationships
For cross-selling efforts to be successful, retail banking companies must keep the conversation going beyond the customer onboarding process. For this, companies can rely on a number of platforms available today such as email, direct mail, statement messaging, SMS texts, and as part of the online and mobile banking platforms. Furthermore, banks must also ensure that these messages and communications should be highly targeted and personalized. This will help companies to build better customer relationships and better facilitate cross-selling in the long run.
Constantly Monitor Opportunities
To grab opportunities before someone else does, it is essential for players in the retail banking industry to continuously monitor the opportunities available. Rather than using product-driven programs that are done seasonally, banks can consider funding more customer-centric programs that evaluate each customer’s propensity to opt for one or more of the products and services that are offered. Customers prefer to be provided with suggestions for services that will help them with their finances. Getting the timing right is an integral part of great customer experience.
Utilize Offline and Online Channels
The effect of different channels of communication might vary from customer to customer. Retail banking companies must use as many direct channels as possible to reach out to the current customer base as a part of a robust multi-channel marketing plan. This includes direct mail, email, statement inserts, banner ads on your website, ATM messaging, outbound calling efforts, etc. Banks can also encourage the use of online and mobile banking to make tasks easier for customers. This also acts as a channel to use cross-selling techniques and pitch products to the customers.
