To be truly groundbreaking, financial services companies must go further than delighting their customers with convenient, beautifully designed products and services. They must aim to solve a real problem for customers: improving their financial health.
Over 40% of Americans describe themselves as struggling to pay bills and credit payments, and more than one fifth have no idea how long they could make ends meet in the event of a job loss. This is distressing for these Americans and a concern for the United States as a whole. It is also a call to action for the financial service industry. Financial services companies need to provide new mechanisms to spend, borrow, save and plan that will provide real and lasting value to their customers, while also creating long-term revenue streams.
The banks, credit unions, retailers, financial technology companies and others who put their customers’ success at the center of their business strategies will experience increased customer loyalty and trust, and deepened product usage and engagement. This may be difficult, or impossible, to track in quarterly gains. However, over the long-term, those financial providers who align their profitability with their customers’ financial health will experience positive reputational and economic results. And, as their customers move up the economic ladder, the financial services providers who invested in their customers’ success will see those relationships expand further.