Mobile technology has disrupted more industries than anyone can count.

The financial services industry? No exception. For your company’s continued success and survival, it’s crucial to adapt to the changing landscape and implement mobile-first strategies to stay connected with clients on the go.

Our world continues to shift towards a digital-first landscape, especially one driven by mobile technology. Many financial companies are taking notice—or already have—of how crucial it is to stay connected with clients who prefer their smartphones above everything else. That’s why a mobile-first strategy for call or contact centers isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore. You need it—or you might as well be extinct.

It makes all the difference when you have the power at your fingertips to harness mobile-first advantages—and the data-driven insights that come with it. This is truly a game-changing time where innovative ideas are being used to offer seamless service to customers and make their lives easier. And that last part also goes for you and your employees, too.

By implementing mobile-first strategies that prioritize the customer experience, integration, and security, you can stay ahead of the competition and meet the evolving needs of your clients.

In this post, we’ll dive deeper into the crucial advantages of a mobile-first approach, and how your financial institution can harness this trend to stay ahead of the curve.

1. Rise of Mobile in Financial Services

Long gone is the era where customer interactions in the financial services industry mostly took place in brick-and-mortar buildings.

Now, your business may not even have physical locations. Maybe you never have. 

The most mind-blowing part? These customer interactions with your company may not even take place most often on your website or via email.

With over 5 billion mobile users globally, it’s no surprise that mobile has become a crucial channel for financial services. And the stats don’t lie. More than half of consumers almost always, or frequently, rely on mobile devices—especially smartphones and apps—for pre-purchase research (56%) and reviews (54%). This trend’s only expected to continue as younger generations who’ve grown up with mobile tech become the top demographic for your financial services company.

According to Statista, the number of digital banking users in the United States is expected to grow (exponentially) year-on-year until 2025. Starting from roughly 197 million users in March 2021, the total number of people using mobile in the U.S. is forecasted to reach a staggering 217 million.

This increase in mobile usage isn’t limited to an increase in the number of customer interactions, either. Mobile’s also had a measurably positive impact on the overall efficiency and performance of call and contact centers.

Not only do customers expect mobile access to their financial accounts and information, they also want mobile-first experiences in other areas, including:

• Financial advice
• Account opening
• Loan applications

And, as you’ve probably experienced yourself… much, much more.

That’s why it’s vital for your call or contact center to adopt mobile-first strategies that prioritize a digital-first experience over other channels. Mobile especially is continuing to prove itself as the #1 way customers interact with financial services companies.

Adaptation to Mobile Technology

Above all else, one thing’s certain: your financial services company needs to adapt to the rise of mobile technology.

If you’ve implemented mobile strategies in any kind of way, that’s a great start. If you’ve seen positive results? Even better. But we’re here to tell you there’s so much more you could be trying and achieving.

Consider how to develop strategies that align with the mobile-first approach. And think about how to implement applications, responsive websites, and text messaging services that help your business cater to your client’s increasingly higher expectations.

Personalization + Convenience

In a world where customers prize personalization and especially convenience, the traditional 9-to-5 banking model is fast becoming obsolete.

But what if you really leaned into mobile-first strategies? Your call or contact center could suddenly provide round-the-clock support, deliver personalized notifications, and trigger instant updates.

2. Integration + Security Are Game Changers

When it comes to adopting mobile-first strategies, integration and security are two critical factors that can make or break the success of your strategy.

Integrating all of your systems, tools, and channels is vital to provide a seamless experience across all touchpoints, not just mobile interactions.

But mobile devices are favorite targets for cybercriminals and those looking to benefit from your hard-earned information:

• Ensuring the security of your customer data—and your company information—is critical
• Your customers need to feel confident their info is secure, and you need to be confident there aren’t any gaps or backdoors in your systems
• This means investing in robust security measures that go beyond simple username and password protection, or even base-level protocols.

Yes, security is vital. But just as important? The ability to integrate different platforms into a single and seamless setup.

It can feel like a daunting challenge, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. The right contact center platform should make it easy, with experts to help you embrace this necessary, but valuable strategy.

In the financial services sector, where trust is without question the currency of relationships, it absolutely pays to pay attention to things customers might never notice, but are crucial to their satisfaction with your company.

Integrating Across Channels

Mobile-first isn’t just about smartphones anymore. It’s about creating a seamless experience across every device your customers own.

Financial institutions must leverage tools that enable easy integration with various platforms. Accenture reports financial institutions that are truly “all in” on mobile tech, or at least “digitally active,” boost financial returns, with those companies pulling ahead of those struggling with digital transformation.

Enhancing Security Measures

When more people are connected to a variety of devices in more ways than ever before, robust security is vital. Your financial institution has to employ cutting-edge technology to ensure that client data is protected, without sacrificing a user-friendly experience.

3. Analyze Customer Behavior / Sentiment for Continuous Improvement

The advent of mobile-first strategies gives you an unprecedented opportunity to analyze and understand the behavior and sentiment of your customers.

When you have the ability to dive deeper into mobile-focused customer behavior and sentiment, and understand what makes your customer really tick, you’ve unlocked the key for driving continuous improvement in your financial services company.

Tracking customer actions and preferences using mobile analytics can help your financial services companies understand:

• Which features are most popular
• Which areas need improvement
• And especially, which future product ideas and marketing strategies you should allocate more budget and resources for

With mobile customer sentiment analysis, you can identify key drivers of customer satisfaction (and dissatisfaction). By understanding these mitigating factors, you can make even more informed decisions on where to prioritize resources to improve CX. Also think about how you can apply insights from customer feedback through review and survey responses. This is an excellent way to spot new / added areas for improvement.

Using Data Analytics

Data analytics tools provide valuable insights into how customers interact with your financial services company across all mobile platforms. With the right call or contact center software, you can also see a 360° picture of all your customer information at all times. This unlocks the potential for targeted improvements and innovation in the myriad of ways you can deliver exceptional customer service.

Creating a Continuous Feedback Loop

A well-structured feedback loop, where customer input is actively sought, analyzed and acted on, can be a game-changer for optimizing your operations. Speech analytics, customer surveys, and sentiment analysis are your friends here.

4. Mobile Means Success For Financial Services, Now And In The Future

Mobile-first strategies have changed the game for companies in the financial services industry. If you haven’t yet embraced this technology, you need to get started now. If you’ve already implemented some basic mobile solutions, it’s essential that you look into what more you could be doing or what you could be missing out on.

Mobile-first strategies for financial services, especially in the realm of call and contact centers, are an exciting and necessary evolution in an evolving digital world.

In this new (well, new-ish) landscape, when your financial company embraces a mobile-first philosophy, you aren’t just staying connected with clients on the go. You have the potential to continue reshaping the whole industry.

The benefits of being able to access the latest and greatest mobile tech make a difference:

• Integrate all your various and disparate platforms securely
• Help your financial institution deliver a level of connectivity and personalization that was once unthinkable
• And yes, the same even goes for realizing ROI gains

The mobile-first path is full of opportunities for growth and innovation. It’s not just about keeping pace with change, but being proactive drivers of it. Want to find out more about software solutions tailored for this new mobile era? Look no further than McKinsey’s thought-provoking research / question: While banks continue to downsize physical channels, the long-term role of branches remains unclear. At more than a third of banks, branch activity grew by 20 percent in 2021—so are physical branches still important?

The most important thing to keep in mind? You’ve likely dipped your toe into the water or maybe dove all in on the promise. But You might not even know what else you’re missing out on. The true potential is even bigger, and there’s even more you could be doing, when you have the right call or contact center software.

Mobile’s by no means a new channel. But there are new opportunities and advantages constantly opening up every day for your financial service company. The future’s bright for any contact center leader who’s open to changing the game.