The member or customer just walked out the door, hung up the phone or closed the chat. Phew! It’s over…you made it through. Until the next person arrives (or until the same person returns for something else).
One excellent experience isn’t enough. You must provide an amazing bank or credit union consumer experience every single time someone seeks your services.
According to Salesforce, 79% of consumers expect consistency in their interactions with any of your employees or departments. That’s right. Front office. Back office. Team members at the branch close to home or the ones at the branch across town.
So, repeat success is not an optional part of your bank or credit union consumer experience program. It’s mandatory. But where do you start?
Here are four suggestions.
1. Train Your Team
Train every staff member on your journey map and service expectations. Clearly explain why performing your process to the letter matters. You’ll want both monthly and quarterly training to prevent information decay.
What does that mean?
Anytime a trainer stops by your community bank or credit union, there is a “training high” the team lives off for a bit. But that high gradually declines and people start cutting corners, slipping up or forgetting the point. Regular training refreshers stave off information decay.
Some fun ways to use your bank or credit union consumer experience trainings to establish consistency include:
2. Offer the Carrot
Don’t underestimate the power of the carrot.
People repeat rewarding actions. It sounds a little bit like Pavlovian conditioning, but it’s true. The human brain wants to relive good feelings over and over again. How can you take advantage of this to establish a consistent bank or credit union consumer experience?
Start at a scorecard. Many institutions use a scorecard to randomly grade staff members on how closely they follow the journey map, all the way down to individual portions of the experience. Note where a team member performs exceptionally well and reward them each time they perform well in that area.
The consistency of the reward ensures the consistency of the behavior. And rewards can be large or small. Here are some ideas:
- Verbal praise or affirmation
- A title (“Smiling Master,” “Solution Savant,”etc.)
- Parking spots
- A free soda or snack
- A gift card
3. Keep the Stick in Reserve
President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” And with some team members, forming behaviors consistent with your bank or credit union consumer experience feels like tricky diplomacy.
Like Roosevelt said…you need the stick. But don’t forget the first part either. Keep the stick in reserve and try to negotiate the proper behavior into existence.
Start at the scorecard again. Locate areas of deficiency, censure in private and try to find the best path forward. One key question is the employee’s motivation. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is the employee just apathetic?
- Or are they just struggling (but still trying their best)?
- Are they teachable and eager to amend mistakes?
The answers to these questions will affect your coaching. Hopefully, the team member improves and moves into the carrot conditioning cycle described in the last point.
And if they continue to compromise your bank or credit union consumer experience program consistency…you still have the stick as a last resort.
4. Establish Intrinsic Motivation
The extrinsic motivators of carrot and stick work well enough, but they lack the monumental power of intrinsic motivation. Past McKinsey research shows intrinsically motivated employees do a 16% better job and display 32% greater commitment than other staff members.
So, does your bank or credit union consumer experience have a purpose? A real purpose?
Cross-selling or being nice isn’t going to cut it. Give your staff a cause to rally behind. Remember: improving your consumer experience consistency is a business decision, but it’s also a mission decision. When someone commits the program’s mission to heart…that’s when they get it right every time.
As Albert Einstein said, “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
Create a bank or credit union consumer experience program that gives people the same incredible service time after time with help from On The Mark Strategies. Book a free consultation today.
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