A version of this article first appeared in the April BAI Executive Report: Growing quality deposits and customer acquisition. In the report, you’ll find content tackling deposit behavior trends, tech-enabled deposit growth strategies, liquidity and funding flexibility, plus more.
In today’s competitive financial landscape, marked by historically high interest rates, technology is a key differentiator. With most banks and credit unions offering similar rates, institutions that excel are those that harness modern technology to empower their employees, streamline operations, enhance customer experiences and boost efficiency.
Here are five ways leading institutions leverage technology to accelerate customer acquisition and deposit growth:
1) Optimize application pull-through and account opening capabilities
Challenge: Higher application conversion rates
Institutions often create friction in the online account opening process. Complicated forms, unclear instructions and lack of intuitive design can lead to high abandonment rates, limiting growth and diminishing marketing ROI.
Solution: Implement streamlined account opening technology that guides customers seamlessly through the process, reducing friction and optimizing the user experience. Move from converting one or two out of every ten people who click “Open an Account” to booking five to six of every ten applicants. A non-negotiable element of this strategy is implementing top-of-the-line controls alongside a high-converting user experience to mitigate fraud and block out bad actors.
2) Identify opportunities to improve the operational efficiency of your branches
Challenge: Enhance staff productivity and customer experience
Branch networks continue to play a vital role in customer satisfaction and acquisition. Technology can streamline front- and back-office workflows, boost staff productivity and improve customer experience, ultimately driving deposit and customer growth.
Solution: Leverage technology that frees up employee time to focus on more personalized customer interactions. Modernize the account opening process with paperless document collection, automated KYC and KYB, and upgraded workflows that guide staff through adaptive, risk-based digital processes.
“Modernizing the in-branch experience and adopting an omnichannel account origination strategy has allowed us to optimize our in-branch operations, maximize deposit growth and create the best possible customer experience.” —Veritex Community Bank
3) Develop a new digital-only brand
Challenge: Expand nationwide or deploy a hyper-targeted regional strategy?
Banks and credit unions no longer need to rely solely on physical branches to attract customers. A strong digital presence enables institutions to tap into national markets and niche segments.
Solution: Build a digital-first, mobile-optimized platform that provides a frictionless online experience, attracting deposits from anywhere while empowering your team to grow beyond traditional branch networks.
“The launch of [digital-first] Rising Bank has resulted in the same deposit growth as building 10 new branches.”—Flushing Bank
4) Bridge the small- and medium-size business (SMB) technology gap
Challenge: Drive higher automation and paperless onboarding
SMB account opening in banks and credit unions is still largely paper-based. To stay competitive, institutions must invest in digital acquisition technology that can meet the expectations of SMB owners and match the speed and efficiency of competing fintechs and megabanks.
Solution: Implement technology that boosts operational efficiency and delivers a digital-first experience. This includes digital document collection, real-time business verification and advanced fraud controls. Banks and credit unions should aim for a 5-minute SMB account opening with under 20% manual review.
“We have an industry-leading account opening experience for business owners and back-office operations at Grasshopper Bank. We save our business clients valuable time, so they can reinvest it into growing their business…”—Grasshopper Bank
5) Data-driven cross-selling during onboarding
Challenge: Maximizing customer lifetime value
Cross-selling is essential to deepening customer relationships and increasing the lifetime value of each account holder. Many technology solutions miss the opportunity to cross-sell during the onboarding process. By integrating cross-selling efforts into the account opening flow, financial institutions can incentivize customers to open multiple accounts, such as savings, investment accounts or credit cards, in exchange for better rates or exclusive offers.
Solution: Leverage technology to seamlessly integrate tailored cross-sell offers into the customer onboarding process. Introduce relevant products and services during the account opening flow, alongside targeted email campaigns. This unified approach enhances engagement, maximizes wallet share and creates a personalized onboarding experience.
IN CONCLUSION
By harnessing modern technology, financial institutions can empower their employees to drive greater efficiency, improve customer experience and stay competitive in today’s rapidly evolving market.
From optimizing digital performance to streamlining in-branch operations, the right technology and banker tools can unlock new growth opportunities, deepen customer relationships and ultimately fuel sustained deposit and customer growth.
David Carlson is Head of Sales at MANTL.
