Last week, Alex Brockman, CSG's VP of sales & marketing, was one of two speakers at the Data Business Equipment ‘Branch Innovation Forum’ in Urbandale, IA. This was Alex’s first speaking engagement since joining CSG, but he’s considered a financial industry thought leader who has spoken about the need for disruptive change at numerous conventions and Board of Director/Executive Leadership meetings. Alex’s content focused on three main sections: Tech, CX & You.
Tech
The technology portion focused on three main areas: Mobile, Data, FinTech. Alex gleaned from the FinTech community, including insights from David Jimenez Maireles and research from CB Insights and AT Kearney to outline the importance of mobile solutions. Josh Brown’s recent comments at the Inside ETF event also contextualized the need to embrace data, but not be subject to it. Seeing that csg’s greatest influence in the financial industry our expertise in Business Intelligence and Data Strategies, Alex showed the disparity between the amount of data financial institutions have for their customers as opposed to Facebook and Google. These amounts are staggering, but what’s more is the projected amounts of organic data to be produced in coming years. Without a sound data strategy, and leveraging the correct FinTech partners to enhance their offerings, the financial industry will continue to struggle in this area.
CX
With Alex having just spent two years telling the NewGround and Adrenaline Agency story, the Customer Experience (CX) portion emphasized the need to look at current spaces as opposed to new locations. Most branches in the US utilize 80% of the space for transactions when those functions are being performed online or via mobile banking. Leaders in the industry today are inverting that ratio and allowing the space to serve as a gathering spot, a learning lab, or a community center.
You
As the presentation concluded, the call to action came from the ‘You’ segment. You means: YOU. Not what Bank of America, or Chase, or Navy Federal Credit Union are doing; rather going through the process of identifying who YOU are and where YOU want to go. Alex enhanced the experience at this presentation by asking a friend, Dakota Grady, for a custom suit. Alex asked for a few of Dakota’s own suits as opposed to a custom, made-to-measure one for himself. As expected, they didn’t fit. The pants were too short, the waist/arms/shoulders were all off. Alex closed by saying, “And I just want to show you how this looks in real life when you try to emulate what the guy across the street is doing. This suit wasn’t made for me. It was made for a friend. And this is what it looks like when you try and copy someone else’s strategy instead of seeking out the guides to craft your own.” The entire discussion, along with Dakota’s suit, communicated that primary focus for any financial institution should be an individually crafted strategy. When done correctly, this strategy will stage the correct consumer experience which leverages technology to facilitate more human interaction than less.
