What banks in Bangladesh can learn from global digital disruption

So you are a financial institution boasting a ‘customer-centric’ enterprise? If you believe you are ready for the even the next decade ahead, think again. Offering a multi-channel experience, across traditional and online channels, was a given for yesterday’s banking. Customers used to long queues and financial advice delivered at appointments were easily wowed by instant cash withdrawals and the convenience of online banking. It certainly worked for a whole generation of customers. But there is a different demographic picture that is emerging in countries like Bangladesh, which is particularly relevant to banks.
They are called the ‘millennials’. Born after 1980, millennials account for about 30per cent of the world’s population. Some 90 per cents of the millennials live in emerging and developing economies. By one estimate, before 2025 they will constitute 60 per cent of the world’s workforce. Infact in Bangladesh, some 47.6 million or 30 percent of the total 158.5 million people in Bangladesh are young (10-24 years), and it will be between 10 and 19 percent by 2050, according to UNFPA, so we can expect a huge inflow of millennials in the banking customer base in the coming years. Instinctively digital by habit, the millennials are at the centre of self-created digital networks. Considered individually, this segment generates humungous amounts of data that business enterprises would find priceless for their purpose.    
Yet, how do Bangladeshi banks view, service and plan to engage with this segment?
Moreover, telecom providers in Banagladesh already provide simple money transfer services and infact mobile banking is being used by Right now in Bangladesh about 25 million customers in Bangladesh.
Transaction services, which banks had relied on to boost their income, such as payments and remittance services are no longer their monopoly.
Besides, there is a whole new generation of customers that the banks need to attract and engage with for the long term.
In my mind, the future customers for a bank are the millennials. Banks need to urgently focus on this segment in order to succeed in the future by building trust, loyalty and brand resonance early. They need to move away from the old script of ‘customer centricity’. Today, that is a given, but insufficient. In their very thinking banks need to prepare for a ‘customer-in’ approach. Customer-in is the mentality or state of readiness of an organisation to proactively engage a customer or a prospect, to build a sustainable, information-driven and value-centric relationship. This is distinct from ‘customer centricity’, where companies intelligently mapped their products and services to sell to the customer.
Reflecting back on my conversations with banks and other disruptive businesses, I propose three essentials tips to build a ‘customer-in’ strategy:
Know your customer – Make sure you possess a dynamic and complete view of the customer, synthesised from information within and outside the business, which can inform every aspect of your customer engagement. Empower your customer – Adopt a model which enables your customer to transact anytime, anywhere, across any channel, delivering continuity throughout the engagement process. Empower your customers with relevant information and tools along the way.  
Wow your customer – Deliver the right product at the right time; the right service every time. This will allow you to anticipate customer needs, and provides them simple, easy, and relevant products and services.   
Such a model is already in vogue in the telecommunications services sector. Customers can pick the bouquet of products or channels they desire, customise it, pay and activate it without any waiting period.
Banks urgently need to move to such a model in order to truly build brand loyalty amongst their millennial clientele.
The centerpiece of such a move would be the technology banks adopt. They must choose a business and technology architecture that delivers digital engagement, a set of externalised customer centric processes, and componentised core capabilities to enable progressive modernisation.

The writer is   Executive VP and GM, FSGBU of Oracle Corporation.

What banks in Bangladesh can learn from global digital disruption

So you are a financial institution boasting a customer-centric enterprise? If you believe you are ready for the even the next decade ahead, think again. Offering a multi-channel experience, across traditional and online channels, was a given for yesterdays banking. Customers used to long queues and financial advice delivered at appointments were easily wowed by instant cash withdrawals and the convenience of online banking. It certainly worked for a whole generation of customers. But there is a different demographic picture that is emerging in countries like Bangladesh, which is particularly relevant to banks. They are called the millennials. Born after 1980, millennials account for about 30per cent of the worlds population. Some 90 per cents of the millennials live in emerging and developing economies. By one estimate, before 2025 they will constitute 60 per cent of the worlds workforce. Infact in Bangladesh, some 47.6 million or 30 percent of the total 158.5 million people in Bangladesh are young (10-24 years), and it will be between 10 and 19 percent by 2050, according to UNFPA, so we can expect a huge inflow of millennials in the banking customer base in the coming years. Instinctively digital by habit, the millennials are at the centre of self-created digital networks. Considered individually, this segment generates humungous amounts of data that business enterprises would find priceless for their purpose. Yet, how do Bangladeshi banks view, service and plan to engage with this segment? Moreover, telecom providers in Banagladesh already provide simple money transfer services and infact mobile banking is being used by Right now in Bangladesh about 25 million customers in Bangladesh. Transaction services, which banks had relied on to boost their income, such as payments and remittance services are no longer their monopoly. Besides, there is a whole new generation of customers that the banks need to attract and engage with for the long term. In my mind, the future customers for a bank are the millennials. Banks need to urgently focus on this segment in order to succeed in the future by building trust, loyalty and brand resonance early. They need to move away from the old script of customer centricity. Today, that is a given, but insufficient. In their very thinking banks need to prepare for a customer-in approach. Customer-in is the mentality or state of readiness of an organisation to proactively engage a customer or a prospect, to build a sustainable, information-driven and value-centric relationship. This is distinct from customer centricity, where companies intelligently mapped their products and services to sell to the customer. Reflecting back on my conversations with banks and other disruptive businesses, I propose three essentials tips to build a customer-in strategy: Know your customer Make sure you possess a dynamic and complete view of the customer, synthesised from information within and outside the business, which can inform every aspect of your customer engagement. Empower your customer Adopt a model which enables your customer to transact anytime, anywhere, across any channel, delivering continuity throughout the engagement process. Empower your customers with relevant information and tools along the way. Wow your customer Deliver the right product at the right time; the right service every time. This will allow you to anticipate customer needs, and provides them simple, easy, and relevant products and services. Such a model is already in vogue in the telecommunications services sector. Customers can pick the bouquet of products or channels they desire, customise it, pay and activate it without any waiting period. Banks urgently need to move to such a model in order to truly build brand loyalty amongst their millennial clientele. The centerpiece of such a move would be the technology banks adopt. They must choose a business and technology architecture that delivers digital engagement, a set of externalised customer centric processes, and componentised core capabilities to enable progressive modernisation. The writer is Executive VP and GM, FSGBU of Oracle Corporation.