The emergence of disruptive newcomers in the financial services industry has marked an era where targeted digital offerings are no longer seen as part of a short-lived trend. With the rise of online-only banks and open finance, customers now expect digital financial services.

Alongside this shift in preference, many financial service providers have recognised the need to prioritise the value they offer to customers. They believe profit will naturally follow once this value is established. In this era, staying competitive means organisations must balance digitising services with making them more accessible, personalised, multi-channel, and secure.

The importance of human touch in the digital era

A survey by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the University of Cambridge found that 66% of respondents in Southeast Asia borrowed from family and friends, while 39% sought funds from informal finance providers. A significant portion of the region’s population remains either unbanked or underserved by the financial services industry. They are often overlooked by traditional banking institutions as unprofitable.

However, with the surge in technological innovation recently, this segment presents a golden opportunity. Fintech companies can harness technology to cater to this group, promote inclusion, and expand their market share.

While the industry undergoes digital transformation, it’s crucial to remember that customers still value human interaction for significant financial decisions. By integrating human elements into digital experiences, such as personalisation, omnichannel content delivery, and conversational AI, interactions become more engaging.

Financial institutions can use technologies like mobile development, APIs, data analytics, and AI to foster trust and offer value to their customers, all while maintaining that human touch.

For instance, conversational AI tools like chatbots allow financial institutions to provide 24/7 support, balancing automation with human interaction. Chatbots manage routine queries and transactions, then pass on more personalised and intricate interactions to virtual assistants.

Furthermore, financial institutions can use the vast data on customer behaviour to offer customised recommendations, alerts, and promotions.

Central to this is a consistent and seamless experience across channels, blending the human touch with digital interaction. By centralising online content, a company can distribute it across its digital ecosystem, fostering trust and familiarity with its customers.

Great digital experiences start with online content

What truly binds everything is timely and relevant content. Customers value being informed and educated about their financial circumstances.

By strategically managing content to inform, educate, and engage, companies forge that essential human connection.

Delivering customised content demands streamlined content management processes, data intelligence, and customer insights through dependable, future-ready systems. At the heart of this is a content management system (CMS). With a CMS, financial service providers can centrally and efficiently build and oversee their digital channels, such as websites and mobile apps.

Beyond simplifying content creation, a CMS ensures uniformity across all digital platforms. Frequently changing assets like rates, offerings, and locations can be updated across multiple sites swiftly and with fewer resources using a CMS.

Additionally, a CMS facilitates integration with other systems like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing automation platforms. These integrations allow organisations to offer personalised experiences based on individual branch locations and account portfolios.

Lastly, a CMS ensures that digital channels are optimised for various devices and consumption methods. Financial service providers can design responsive websites and mobile apps for diverse screen sizes and devices, a crucial feature in today’s world where customers expect to access financial services anytime, anywhere, and on any device.

Delivering excellent digital experiences with CMS platforms

With the evolving landscape of the financial services industry, IT and marketing must focus on humanising digital experiences. The rise of disruptive newcomers, combined with growing customer preferences for digital interactions, places the responsibility on businesses to discover innovative ways to integrate human elements into digital experiences. Conversational AI, personalisation, and omnichannel experiences provide promising avenues to achieve this without overloading human team members. Through a connected digital experience platform, financial service providers can manage digital content and offer personalised experiences.

To get the most value out of a CMS, IT leaders should consider each platform’s inherent security, auditing, and compliance features, along with support for secure data transfer and advanced workflow automation capabilities. By choosing a CMS platform that encompasses all these aspects, IT leaders can ensure their organisations deliver captivating digital experiences with a faster time to value.