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Rebuilding Financial Trust through Sustainable Growth

The economic and public health crisis caused by Covid-19 has permanently changed the financial industry, which has led to an increased demand for digital banking among clients. Salesforce’s fintech expert Ole Andersen explains how Salesforce helps service providers adapt to this new normal.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had widespread implications in the financial services sector. Consumers are feeling insecure and uncertain about their jobs and economy.

The disruption caused by the coronavirus to financial markets and existing business models has come after a period of several years, where banks, with the help of fintech companies have been on a mission to digitally transform their products.

But with the sudden revolution in consumer behavior and personal finances emerging from the crisis, many financial service providers are facing a wake-up call:

It is no longer enough to be talking about digital banking. In times of uncertainty, customers are demanding flexible, accessible solutions suited to their personal needs. And they want it now”, says Ole Andersen, Senior Sales Executive for Salesforce’s fintech solutions.

So how does FinTechs and banks achieve success in this new normal and make the necessary changes at lightning speed?

From hyper growth to retention and service

The first initial step towards rebuilding consumer trust involves a crucial shift in strategic priorities. As a result of the economic recession and changes in consumer demand, Covid-19 is forcing FinTechs to move away from a narrow focus on customer acquisition and hyper-growth to one of retention and service.

The current economic situation means that FinTechs have to do more with less resources and funding. Therefore, we are seeing a shift from rapid market expansions towards more long-term sustainable growth from the hundreds of startups, corporate banks and financial institutions that are using the Salesforce Financial Services Ecosystem,” says Andersen.

But one thing is to adjust your strategy. Another is to implement it in practice, which is why companies also need to change how they measure performance.

Knowing your client, providing great customer service and convenient solutions that fit individual needs are more important differentiators than ever before. Similarly, the customer lifetime value needs to become a more important KPI as opposed to only focusing on the number of new clients,“ says Andersen.

Combining growth with scalability and insights

The strategic focus on customer service and retention has practical implications for the technical setup that financial service providers require to fulfill their ambitions. Here, many FinTechs choose to partner with Salesforce on the Salesforce Financial Services Cloud.

The platform gives access to effortless scalability and services that lets companies serve customers at any time, place and on any device, while also providing actionable intelligence and ecosystems that helps companies turn data into knowledge with great speed and agility.

“Salesforce’s cloud-based platform adds that critical layer between the company and the client that gathers all customer data and interaction in one place, giving all employees from the adviser to the service rep access to the same actionable information and insights,” Ole Andersen ends.