Face-to-Face Contact is the Key to Building Customer Relationships, According to New IDC Financial Insights Study

A new IDC Financial Insights study, Branch Transformation in a Digital World, highlights that bank branches can elicit more customer retention and more cross-selling than any other method as the time to talk to customers remains the best way of understanding how to serve them better.

The study highlights some of the key drivers for branch banking:

• Branch satisfaction remains high. Satisfaction with branches is generally high, and even customers who generally avoid their local branch appreciate its presence. Transformation can entrench branches’ popularity by making sure that each customer visit is fulfilling, that customers are presented with relevant offers, and that their complaints or queries are seen to.
  
• Face-to-face contact is key to building customer relationships. Modern data analytics can predict what products might best suit which customer but not to the level of a face-to-face meeting. This means that branches can elicit more customer retention and more cross-selling than any other method.
  
• Banks must protect their investments. For banks with existing, unwieldy branch networks, shutting down large numbers of branches is not realistic. Branches are often on long-term leases, and the sunk costs in terms of previous investments are too high. So the decline in visits must be mitigated by making the branch experience as smooth as possible, while maximizing revenue opportunities and minimizing cost.
  
• Modern technology makes branches more affordable. A transformed branch can occupy a smaller area, employ fewer staff, and be better geared toward revenue generation — staff, equipped with the right tools, can focus on sales rather than transaction processing. By investing in branch transformation and modern technology, a bank can therefore put its branch network on a sustainable financial footing.