In the seven years since the renowned duo of C. K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy made the term ‘co-creation’ famous, what has been its progress, especially in the banking context? And where is it headed? Let us take stock.
Finding the right financial planning advisor is quite challenging for mass affluent customers. Most people mistakenly believe that financial planning is only for the wealthy. Often, they find it difficult to identify a financial advisor whom they can trust.
Decades have passed since information technology first made its appearance in banking. Financial institutions have invested billions of dollars in various solutions to literally change the face of their business.
If there wasn’t enough focus on it already, the financial crisis has taken innovation to the top of most banks’ agendas. In mature as well as emerging markets, banking institutions are differentiating their value proposition from that of their competitors by innovating upon their offerings, benefiting both customers and the organization in the process.
When it comes to innovativeness, small banks have shown that size does not matter. Small banks, which we define as those with less than US$ 10 billion in assets for the purpose of this paper, typically include the likes of Credit Unions and Community Banks in the U.S., Building Societies in the U.K. and Co-operative Banks in India.
Banks have traditionally reached their customers through branches. Thanks to improvement in communication technology and innovation, they now have several ways to contact their customers. Communication and servicing models have evolved to a great extent, and will continue to do so in the future.
Banks need innovation to sustain in future. Corporate and retail banks are facing competition from new entrants and innovative business models. If that wasn't enough, shrinking margins and tighter regulatory requirements are adding to the pressure.
Innovation is a powerful weapon of differentiation for financial institutions. In recent years, banks have innovated on their products, processes and channel infrastructure to achieve multiple objectives such as raising operational efficiency, improving customer convenience and accelerating business growth.