Ensuring customers are connected to their bank 24 hours a day will improve consistency of service, according to Hendus Venter of Nedbank.
Speaking at Future Bank Africa 2013 in Sandton, Johannesburg, Venter, executive head of retail and wealth at Nedbank, said the industry has yet to learn “how to turn bits and bytes into rands and cents”.
Omni-channel banking adds the element of online self-service to multi-channel, which previously incorporated in-branch staff assisted service and in-branch self-service.
Venter said: “Omni-channel distribution is going to really shape a client’s experience. The reason why banks are frustrating is because of the differentiator of experience. You are not experiencing a consistent experience.
“It is really a big challenge for us to get clients to trust us. On the one side we are telling clients to trust us, on the other we are telling clients to be careful and aware of phishing contact.”
Venter added that the increasing presence of social media and forums means traditional marketing is becoming less powerful than informing clients and future clients of new innovations and services.
He revealed statistics that show 75 per cent of key decisions are now being made or informed by close family friends and relatives. Also, 65 per cent of customers prefer side-by-side comparison before purchasing or deciding on a product.
Venter added: “How active are we in engaging with social media and forums to shape these conversations? To what extent are we being transparent?”
