Reflections - Cognizant

The retail bank has seen client expectations change in recent years. Five years ago, consumers did not expectthe option of receiving their financial statements via PDA, for example. Today, if a bank does not provide thatkind of access, it is likely to be judged as sorely lacking. “It’s a shift in paradigm, and that shift is happeningreally rapidly,” said the CIO, adding that he spends a lot of time considering what’s next, as well as what thebank has to do to make sure it can serve its communities and customers the way they want to be served.Grasping the Social Media OpportunityFor decades, banks and other financial institutions had the luxury of dictating to customers how they rantheir business. But with social media, that is no longer the case. For example, the investment services firm'ssenior executive is using Twitter and Facebook for general outreach and corporate marketing purposes. Butbefore investing heavily in social media, he wants to be sure these tools will drive actual value. “We’ve gotto make sure we’re consistent with our client community. So what we’re doing more of is using some of thesocial networking tools internally, creating those personal networks to help you reach out, find the right people,find the expert and create communities for our client base,” he said.Five years ago, consumers did not expect theoption of receiving their financial statements viaPDA, for example. Today, if a bank doesnot provide that kind of access, it is likely tobe judged as sorely lacking.Younger consumers consider social media a table stake, said the online brokerage director, which meansthat the company is taking them seriously. This is important due to the upcoming wealth transfer expectedto take place in the next generation, which is earlier than with previous generations for demographicreasons. The younger generation today has little use for a telephone other than for texting. They don’tunderstand why all the companies they patronize aren’t Tweeting.The younger generation today has littleuse for a telephone other than for texting.They don’t understand why all the companiesthey patronize aren’t Tweeting.“This is a problem for all of us in financial services,” he said. “Today’s kids are going to be inheriting fromtens of thousands to millions of dollars. And they’re suddenly going to be our clients. Whereas, in the oldmodel, most of us had to earn it and then transfer it later. They’re now going to be dealing with this in their20s, 30s and 40s, and have this demand for technology.” Banking and financial services companies needto start now providing the services and content younger consumers expect.According to the senior executive at the investment services company, the challenge with social media is toseparate the hype from what really works. The company has enjoyed success with an online small business,he said, because suddenly, small-business customers are turning to each other for help on how to resolveissues. The company has discovered social media are critical in the travel space, for example. “That’s one9 REFLECTIONS http://cognizant.com