Third of the three-part series revolving around #Data and its impact on the Financial Services Industry.
Like most industries, banking professionals love reports. As the scale of the organization grows, more reports are produced with increased levels of data points being considered and bigger dollar amounts on the line. Data visualization can merge complex data sets (think reports on top of reports) and create actionable insights for a specified department, or the organization as a whole. Its helpful to understand where visualizations can help, so let’s look at three different departments to evaluate how data visualizations in banking can enhance the client experience, and save time/money along the way:
Client Portfolios/Statements – We should always be client focused, and there is no better way than to help your clients visualize their relationship rather than read about it. As more people access their account digitally (website, mobile app, etc), there is a need to provide a more dynamic visual for the client. When their statement is just static templates and reports with their name on it, you miss an opportunity to provide a differentiating experience. Based on conversations with the client, statements or annual reports can have specific visualizations customized for them.
Sales – Banks and Credit Unions have considerable amounts of data on their clients/members. When an organization can harness that information and apply models to the data, it is easier to find which prospects or current customers need to be marketed to for specific product promotions. It is also easier to determine who is at risk of leaving the institution by evaluating the frequency of key transactions like direct deposits and ACH’s to other institutions. It is much easier to deepen an existing relationship than find a new one.
Data Team – Mapping the data journey will be crucial to proper storage and governance of the invaluable data. As teams start to add roles like Chief Data Officers, Data Architects & Data Analysts, it's imperative for IT and data dependent teams to get aligned. The end users want to make sure they know where their information is coming from, and IT wants to ensure the security of their network and platform. One visualization showing all data sources (internal and external) ensures everyone is on the same page.
Visualizations make the information approachable to anyone. Typical silos within organizations make insight sharing difficult, and departments work from their own ‘version of the truth’. With a data driven mentality, these silos can be broken down, data transparency can be achieved, and departmental synergies can be created. Data visualization in banking is part art-form, part storytelling, and part time-management. Applying traditional methods with modern tools will not produce the desired result for clients or internal team members. It’s a holistic approach shift, which we will discuss in future series.
Read our complete guide to data visualization tools for business owners.