Banks should go digital to soothe anxious customers

Anxious consumers don't have to look far for economic worries, and a new survey shows banks aren't helping.

The Chief Marketing Officer Council, an organization that provides industry analysis for chief marketers, finds that only 19% of bank marketing executives surveyed were satisfied with their use of digital media in customer relations.

Donovan Neale-May, CMO Council executive director, says customer communication using digital media can help smaller banks compete with larger institutions.

Social networking sites, email campaigns and mobile messaging are ways to give customers the brighter side of economic news. Neal-May says customers are happy to hear positive news, and banks will increase retention rates. Community banks, which rely on long-term customer relationships, should be focused on expanding their digital presence, he says.

Other benefits of wading deeper into the technological world include tapping into a growing database of customer analytics data, which Neale-May says can help banks craft strategies to lure specific sectors of the marketplace.

“Even the older population is starting to get tech savvy,” Neale-May says.

The competitive landscape of banking on the Gulf Coast means local banks must beef up their digital sides to stay in business. The first step is letting customers know about positive economic news. “Where there's bad news there's also good news,” he says. “Banks need to get the good news to customers.”