Customer Engagement Via SMS Brings New Opportunities To Financial Institutions
Leveraging SMS-centric capabilities and features to bring mobile-first initiatives into the next phase of personal banking and financial security, financial institutions will be able to ensure greater customer satisfaction, proactively initiate conversations and build stronger trust.
Mobile is transforming every aspect of our lives and the financial services sector is no exception. A recent infographic by OpenMarket and research and advisory firm Javelin, involving over 100 demographic, behavioural, and attitudinal variables, identified two of the most important customer segments demonstrating how Americans will bank, pay, shop, save and invest in the future.
The first segment, Moneyhawks®, is considered the most profitable yet demanding customer group and accounts for 13% of the population. The second segment, Emergents, is characterised by a mobile-first mindset and accounts for 35% of the population. Both segments are seen as tech-savvy, and keen to interact with financial institutions via mobile devices.
With the rate of smartphone ownership reaching almost 100% across both customer segments, it comes as no surprise that more than half of Moneyhawks® and 3 out of 10 Emergents prefer to receive SMS alerts for bank activity compared to 27% of the general US population.
SMS is, therefore, a powerful communications tool as 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt[1]. In addition, millennials prefer texting over voice interactions and are 40 times more likely to take action when sent a text message – making SMS the most ubiquitous and effective customer engagement channel.
To cash in, financial institutions should engage with both Moneyhawks® and Emergents on their preferred platform. By leveraging SMS-centric capabilities and features to bring mobile-first initiatives into the next phase of personal banking and financial security, financial institutions will be able to ensure greater customer satisfaction, proactively initiate conversations and build further trust.