The potential for financial technology grew in 2020, as
consumer-directed personal money management became more popular than ever amid
the pandemic. Around 50 per cent of customers use banking apps or websites
weekly, according to an Accenture survey of 47,000 customers. That’s up from 32
per cent in 2018. And 76 per cent of millennials use an investing app at least
once a week, according to the Q4 2020 Streetwise financial report published by
E-Trade in October. From increased use of online banking apps to the individual
investor boom, the trend is expected to continue in 2021.
But as with any industry, simply providing a service or
technology isn’t enough for a business to thrive. There must be greater efforts
to lure consumers and earn the right to keep their business. According to a
December 2020 Accenture study, business growth and consumer trust improve when
banks “infuse humanity and personalization” into their digital service.
Establishing a personal, online connection with customers, zeroing in on the
target audience, and presenting an easily accessible user interface, can
attract and engage customers in the long term. And the key is not to just check
the boxes, but also to execute these tasks at a high level.
Personal connection in the customer experience
Despite the ever-increasing lean on online transactions
between customer and provider, that does not equate to consumers desiring less
of a human touch. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lowly 27 per cent of
financial services customers thought of the industry as “customer centric”,
according to Salesforce. It’s of no surprise then that leaders in the industry
admitted that improving customer experience dropped from first in 2019 to fifth
on their list of priorities in 2020, according to a November Salesforce survey
of 2,800 industry heads.
One such Canadian-based firm, Stock Sharks touts their
ability to provide that personal touch with a mantra of quality over quantity.
Operating in the finance field as an investment resource, the education technology
company specializes in research, education, and, notably, online community. It
helps both the individual investor and hedge fund to learn about the markets
from seasoned traders. In 2020, Stock Sharks debuted a custom chat interface to
allow its members to more easily communicate directly and quench the appetite
for investing data. The three-year-old global company claims that it has an
annual growth rate of 65 per cent. The development of the online community with
individualized access, plus an influx of new traders and investors in the
market, has contributed to much of Stock Sharks’ success.
“Any single one of our members can FaceTime myself or
anybody on the Sharks team for questions and a walk-through in any particular
situation,” said Sheraz Ali, co-founder and head of community, education, and
research at Stock Sharks. “Our one-on-one relationships with our members are
next to none compared to our competitors.”
Connecting a Niche Customer to a User-Friendly Interface
As consultant and entrepreneur Patrick Brewer wrote in 2019,
identifying the niche consumer directly affects sales and the ability to
cultivate a positive customer experience. Marketing efforts should ditch
abstract strategies meant to cast a wide net. Instead, businesses should target
specific demographics to attract clients, following up with individualized
services to maintain engagement.
Focusing on a niche segment helps a business in
specialization, especially in today’s competitive world. To find a niche, the
first step is to do thorough market research and identify the gaps in the
market. This is followed by finding problems in the industry that can be solved
through a cost-effective solution. The practicality, profitability and
persistence of the solution is then tested on a small sample. If the solution
is optimal, then a niche can be developed targeting the people who face the
problems. With the increased competition, there might be tens or hundreds of
companies working in the same niche. Then, we need to build a user-friendly
interface for our solution that makes it less of a professional business and
more of a personalized service.
A user-friendly interface helps to improve conversion rate
and increase revenue. Utilizing clear calls-to-action through keeping language
short and clear, incorporating subtle design elements, leaving enough white
space to breathe, having consistent fonts, having thorough FAQs, limiting
jargons and making the ‘Contact-Us’ to stand out. Consistent branding should be
integrated and the content should be cohesive with the requirements of a
lay-man customer.
Tapping into unconventional zones
Fields like Healthy Fast Foods, Tiny House Constructions,
Ethical Business Consulting, Website rentals, Raw Pet Foods, Dry Car Wash, etc.
are picking up. These are untraditional zones where the niche market is small
but the customer loyalty and reason for switching in high. Even in the digital
finance world, such unconventional opportunities lie vastly. Ease of digital
use consistently adds value to a financial business bent on attracting and
engaging with their customers.
Rapid Filing Services’ self-directed tax filing website
allows customers to manage multiple tabs at once, an open plan in which they
can easily manoeuvre between forms. And since it established Prior Tax in March
2006, it has evolved into the top online tax filing service for prior-year tax
returns. Prior Tax clearly has a target market: people who are behind on filing
their taxes. And its competitive advantage stems from personalized customer
service available on multiple channels, from phone to live chat to social
media. All easily accessible even before, or if, a client ever chooses the
service.
“I think prior-year customers usually have some hesitation
to file because their tax returns are already late and they have an innate fear
of the IRS,” said Willem Veldhuyzen, founder and president of Rapid Filing
Services, which serves about 30,000 customers each year. “Our key
differentiator is us being able to reach out to them and help them understand
their situation, and the access to the other services such as tax advice,
professional review, a CPA, and to a live person who will help give them peace
of mind.”
Multi-pronged approaches
Fintech business investments in the United States grew to
over $100 billion from nearly $2 billion from 2010 to 2018, reported The Pew
Charitable Trusts. More than half of that investment happened in 2018, evidence
of the strength of the industry and growth expectations. That strength and
growth are eventually measured not only by capital raised but by customer
sales. Oracle’s 2020 survey of 93 financial service executives gave a glimpse
of the value of customer experience to business success. Almost half (45 per
cent) listed fulfilling customer needs and demands as the top customer
experience objective in the next 12 to 18 months. Achieving that goal is not a
one-step process. Companies such as Stock Sharks and Rapid Filing Services have
not just focused on one element of the customer experience, but rather an
amalgamation of improved digital interfaces and identifying niche groups then
delivering to them human and accessible service to grow their business and
brand.
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