# Putting data at the heart of a customer-centric approach Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-01-23 Category: FINANCE Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance Meta Title: The Power of Data in Financial Services: Delivering Meta Description: Discover how challenger banks like Starling Bank are excelling in customer service through data-driven decisions and innovative strategies. URL: https://financedigest.com/putting-data-at-the-heart-of-a-customer-centric-approachhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/untitled-design-1736838627215-compressed.jpg) _By **James Johnston,** Regional VP at [Cloudera](http://cloudera.com)_ Competition in the financial sector is fierce when it comes to delivering on customer service. As challenger banks continue to make an appearance on the scene, they are consistently outpacing and outshining the legacy players with the choices they make available to consumers. In fact, according to KMPG, fresh faces such as [Starling Bank](https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2020/07/uk-customer-experience-improves-despite-covid-19-but-there-s-a-new-customer-to-please.html), are leading the way in the UK when it comes to excelling at customer experience. When it is taken into consideration that customer-centric banks can benefit from [55% higher returns](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/remaking-banking-customer-experience-in-response-to-coronavirus), it is clear financial institutions need to get this part of their offering right. To master the art of customer service, and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals, there is only one place banks should turn to. Their data. **Driving decisions with data** For financial organisations, [data and analytics](https://www.financedigest.com/the-importance-of-data-analytics-for-success.html "The Importance of Data Analytics For Success ") is the key to knowing exactly which products and/or services should be updated or introduced, in order to best meet the needs of the customer. Through analysis of data sources such as investments, account activity and loan requests, [banks can gain a comprehensive understanding of their clients and deliver the tailored experience that is expected](https://www.financedigest.com/factbox-big-banks-expected-to-rack-up-more-than-1-billion-in-fines-for-whatsapp-use.html "Factbox-Big banks expected to rack up more than billion in fines for WhatsApp use"). However, these traditional data sets are only the tip of the iceberg. Due to the ever growing amount of data customers are producing, there is now a plethora of data sources that those within the financial services can tap into. For example, unstructured data feeds such as chatbots, location data, [social media](https://www.financedigest.com/meet-the-founder-of-the-web-3-decentralized-social-media-metaverse-and-on-achieving-guarantees-of-green-for-a-proof-of-impact-future.html "Meet The Founder Of The Web-3, Decentralized, Social Media Metaverse; And on Achieving ‘Guarantees of Green’ For A Proof-of –Impact- Future") streams and clickstream data, all offer invaluable insights into clients. In [bringing together](https://www.financedigest.com/impact-com-announces-partnerships-experience-event-ipx-bringing-together-all-players-in-the-partnership-economy-and-featuring-special-guest-trevor-noah.html "impact.com Announces Partnerships Experience Event, iPX, Bringing Together All Players in the Partnership Economy and Featuring Special Guest Trevor Noah") the data from sources both old and new, these companies will be much better equipped to understand their customers and innovate their experience. To truly maximise on this data streaming, from across the business, it is vital that finance organisations have the right tools in place. The correct solutions will provide organisations with a single point of visibility over their data, irrespective of where the data has come from or where it resides in the enterprise. This will enable financial institutions to carry out real-time interrogation of their data and extract the value-added insights needed to improve the [services to customers](https://www.financedigest.com/any-business-can-now-offer-their-customers-financial-services-how-embedded-finance-is-reinventing-the-wheel-when-it-comes-to-banking.html "Any business can now offer their customers financial services: How embedded finance is reinventing the wheel when it comes to banking"). An example that can be drawn on to illustrate this is in fraud detection. With the ability to consume, analyse and derive patterns typical of fraudulent activity, as it is happening, businesses can more easily alert clients and resolve any issues before they escalate. **The bountiful benefits of a connected lifecycle** It is clear that, to excel at delivering on [customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/getting-customer-experience-right-in-financial-services.html "Getting customer experience right in financial services"), having visibility over all data is key. As a result, the emphasis must be placed on [building a connected data](https://www.financedigest.com/how-financial-services-can-secure-data-and-build-trust-in-todays-modern-environment.html "How financial services can secure data and build trust in today’s modern environment") lifecycle that allows for a comprehensive view of the entire data journey: from edge to cloud. It is this fully connected data, and visibility over it, that will ultimately underpin the success of [banks wishing to remain at the forefront of the industry](https://www.financedigest.com/are-banks-destined-to-merely-become-infrastructure-providers-in-the-banking-industry-of-the-future.html "Are banks destined to merely become infrastructure providers in the banking industry of the future?"). However, making [improvements to customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/improving-customer-experience-and-profits-with-embedded-payments.html "Improving customer experience and profits with embedded payments") is not the only benefit that comes from having a connected data lifecycle. Other critical [business goals](https://www.financedigest.com/business-goals-vs-business-purpose-and-how-to-combine-them-for-success.html "Business Goals vs Business Purpose and how to combine them for success"), such as the following, can be met more easily when financial institutions take a data-led approach: - **Driving [customer loyalty](https://www.financedigest.com/the-problem-with-measuring-customer-loyalty-and-how-to-overcome-it.html "The problem with measuring customer loyalty; and how to overcome it") and long-term retention** - Analytics-driven customer engagement tools, such as feedback analysis, [digital](https://www.financedigest.com/the-digital-finance-revolution-empowered-consumers-turn-digital-to-protect-financial-security.html "The digital finance revolution: empowered consumers turn digital to protect financial security") assistant and customers surveys are all methods through which financial companies can collect information. Obtaining real-time insights that can then be used to inform [positive changes](https://www.financedigest.com/the-meta-trends-driving-positive-change-for-financial-services.html "The meta trends driving positive change for Financial Services") for clients, in near to real time. Despite the ever-changing needs of customers, this continuous assessment of [data can enable businesses](https://www.financedigest.com/three-ways-data-unlocks-business-value-for-financial-organisations.html "Three Ways Data Unlocks Business Value for Financial Organisations ") to stay in tune with what they want and deliver accordingly. - **[Expanding existing business](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-expand-business-reach-with-event-driven-apis.html "How to expand business reach with event driven APIs")** - When armed with a holistic view of their clients, including each interaction they have with the organisation, financial institutions can seek chances to proactively offer a new service or product. In the case of cross-selling, it is vital that the sales team has access to the customer’s entire profile, including their history and previous searches, in order to offer the most appropriate product. However, if the various data sets relating to clients reside in silos, determined by how the data came into the business, this process can be delayed. As a result, the customer’s interest may waiver and they could leave in favour of seeking alternative options. This is why it is paramount that financial organisations have access to the [data](https://www.financedigest.com/easing-the-burden-of-data-overwhelm-in-finance-functions.html "Easing the burden of data overwhelm in finance functions") from across the enterprise. Armed with this, teams are better placed to cross-sell their products and successfully build upon their current client base. - [**Acquiring new customers**](https://www.financedigest.com/can-banks-acquire-customers-with-biometric-payment-cards.html "Can banks acquire customers with biometric payment cards?") - Using techniques such as segmentation, businesses are able to analyse and profile all their existing customers. In turn, companies can draw on these [insights to create tailored messaging and fine-tune their outreach to prospective](https://www.financedigest.com/heightened-interest-in-global-cuisines-to-brighten-the-expansion-prospects-of-herbs-and-spices-manufacturers-industry-predicted-to-rise-at-3-6-cagr-future-market-insights-inc.html "Heightened Interest in Global Cuisines to Brighten the Expansion Prospects of Herbs and Spices Manufacturers: Industry Predicted to Rise at 3.6% CAGR | Future Market Insights Inc. ") customers, knowing what is likely to entice them based on similar customer data. The guesswork is then taken out of targeting and instead grounds outreach in factual insights from existing customers. **Leading by example** Two examples of organisations that have used data to attract and retain customers and stay ahead of the curve are DBS and Rabobank. [DBS](https://www.cloudera.com/about/customers/dbs-bank.html), one of the leading banks in Asia, realised that it needed to become more data-driven if it was to successfully provide a high-level of service to its customers. However, the businesses’ existing technology stack, used to support advanced analytics, did not have the flexibility to support this work, nor was it cost-effective to scale. To overcome this, DBS built an enterprise data hub and central data team with Cloudera, which now enables employees to regularly experiment and be at the forefront of innovation. This has also allowed them to gain a better understanding of its [customer’s experiences](https://www.financedigest.com/the-next-generation-of-customer-experience-in-banking.html "The next generation of customer experience in banking"). In addition, DBS utilised the knowledge and data to apply human-centred [design to its services](https://www.financedigest.com/nanotechnology-to-spell-the-growth-quotient-gq-of-drug-designing-services-market.html "Nanotechnology to spell the growth quotient (GQ) of Drug Designing Services Market"). It now has the ability to store and analyse billions of events within its modern [data platform](https://www.financedigest.com/mercedes-benz-and-microsoft-collaborate-on-supply-chain-data-platform.html "Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft collaborate on supply chain data platform"), meaning DBS can proactively share insights its customers need, before they ask, thus delivering a better service and effectively engaging customers. [Rabobank](https://www.cloudera.com/about/customers/rabobank.html) needed to help its customers, including small businesses, to improve debt settlement in order to become self-sufficient. To do this, the company required access to a mixture of timely, accurate and high quality data, which it could share back to customers, on demand. As such, Rabobank adopted a solution that could ingest large quantities of streaming data and was able to cope with huge amounts of pressures related to high levels of data processing. With these technologies in place, Rabobank was able to quickly process real-time and historic data simultaneously, further improving its employees capabilities to run queries faster for customers. From up-to-the-minute transaction records to customers’ loan repayment patterns, the financial institution can now provide its customers with  immediate access to the [data insights needed](https://www.financedigest.com/the-four-pillars-of-data-integrity-what-finance-businesses-need-to-know.html "The four pillars of data integrity: what finance businesses need to know") to better understand the current state of their financial situation. In turn, Rabobank is able to provide next level [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/how-can-financial-firms-improve-customer-service-after-the-pandemic.html "How Can Financial Firms Improve Customer Service after the Pandemic?") and insight. **[Keeping ahead](https://www.financedigest.com/dutch-governor-knot-signals-ecb-will-keep-raising-rates-in-months-ahead-ft.html "Dutch governor Knot signals ECB will keep raising rates in months ahead- FT") of the competition with data** The fight amongst financial institutions to outshine and out-maneuver one another is ongoing, and will likely be even more fierce in the aftermath of 2020. Failing to deliver on customer experience, even once, might mean a [bank risks](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-says-it-will-unwind-bond-market-intervention-once-risks-have-subsided.html "Bank of England says it will unwind bond market intervention once risks have subsided") losing valuable customers to competitors. However, through harnessing data and then being guided by the [insights it delivers](https://www.financedigest.com/research-delivers-insight-into-the-road-marking-equipment-market-poised-to-expand-at-4-1-cagr-by-2021-to-2031-persistence-market-research.html "Research Delivers Insight Into The Road Marking Equipment Market Poised To Expand At 4.1% CAGR By 2021 to 2031: Persistence Market Research") businesses can provide solutions that sets them apart from competitors. It will be those organisations that invest in connecting their data lifecycles, in order to [create actionable intelligence that improves the customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/customer-experience-creating-the-calm-in-the-chaos.html "Customer Experience: creating the calm in the chaos"), that will thrive in the long term. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---