Pub. 9 2018 Issue 1

www.wvbankers.org 14 West Virginia Banker O bserve the modern banking landscape, and discover a fierce battleground: institution pitted against institution—all vying for the consumer’s attention in a continuous struggle defined by new technology and flashy innovation. Look closer, however, and at the core of all the fluff lies a basic truth: banking as a service is still very much a commodi- ty. How, then, can bankers escape this position of commodity and break free of the status quo? The answer lies not in standalone innovations, but in an en- hanced overall customer experience. This comes according to CSI’s 2018 Banking Priorities Study, which polls banking executives from across the country. This year’s survey captured feedback from 236 bankers nation- wide, all sharing their perspective on which issues, technol- ogies and strategies would affect the financial industry the most during 2018. Here’s what they had to say: A Fine-tuned Customer Experience 48% of bankers plan to increase spending on customer experience initiatives in 2018 Based on the study, bankers obviously find value in the By Steve DuPerrieu, CSI THE GREAT DIFFERENTIATOR EXPER