A market scan of financial service providers in the UK reveals that banking is lagging other sectors when it comes to capturing customer leads digitally.
There is good news though. Organisations can catch up – quickly and affordably, using specialised lead-generation forms like Sandstone Technology’s Rapid Leads.
Sandstone Technology recently scanned the digital channels across UK Financial Institutions (FIs) to capture the level of maturity of digital origination solutions across various banking products. Explaining the results are, Chief Product Officer Michelle Yu, and Senior Product Manager Digital Banking, Kurt Yang at Sandstone Technology.
Finding #1: Lost potential
To analyse digital solutions in the UK, FIs were divided into retail and business banking, then broken down into 6 categories:
1. No digital experience: FI has a website, but no digital sales product form. Customers must call the bank or visit a branch to inquire about products and services.
2. Lead-gen – generic: Typical ‘Contact Us’ form, the same form regardless of which product the customer is interested in; asks for contact details and general reason for inquiry.
3. Lead-gen – specific: As above but customer is also asked qualifying questions that help determine which product they’re interested in, so the query can be directed to the appropriate sales team.
4. PDF: Download and print an application form; fill in online (or print and complete), print it out, then either visit a branch or email the completed form to a designated email address.
5. App cap (app capture): Fill in a digital application form. Customer data is transmitted to the general fulfilment area of the FI.
6. Digital origination: Fully integrated origination solution which can lead to an automatic approval of the relevant product without further contact with the customer. Captures and processes details and documents integrated to other systems including ID verification, address verification, decisioning, to the FI's host/core banking system.
The first discovery was that overall, FIs aren’t currently taking advantage of sales lead-gen opportunities, and as a result, are likely to be missing out on sales.
| UK retail banking* On average, more than 95% of FIs don’t have specialised lead gen forms across their product offerings More than 95% don’t even have generic lead gen forms And more than 75% don’t have digital origination capabilities | UK business banking* On average, more than 90% of FIs don’t have specialised lead gen forms across their product offerings More than 80% don’t have app cap capabilities And more than 80% don’t have digital origination capabilities |
Finding #2: Maturity depends on (lack of) complexity
Deposits are the most digitally mature of all banking products according to the scan - not surprising given the origination for a deposit product is usually straightforward: no credit checks required, just verification of customer ID.
It was also found that retail banking has more app cap and digital origination options for customers, whereas business banking relies far more on lead generation options.
It’s easily explained, according to Michelle Yu. Firstly, business banking tends to be more relationship-based selling so human interaction is more common and automation less so. The products, the credit criteria and the customers can be more complex, as can the types of business entities – and the relationships between them - compared to retail customers. So, approval decisions are harder to make.
“Which is why you tend to see fewer automated, digital origination solutions and more sales lead-gen forms and app cap solutions kicking off the journey,” Michelle says. “They capture some initial information, then someone from the FI contacts the customer."
Finding #3: Banking on the back foot
With only 30% to 40% of FIs having some form of lead-generation solution, the banking sector is definitely behind. As Michelle explains, “In other industries, it’s the norm to have a Lead Capture form of some kind, to capture that lead and be able to follow up the sales opportunity.”
So why the lag? “We believe FIs are being held back by an “all-or-nothing” approach to digital transformation,” Michelle says.
What that often means is, if the organisation doesn’t have budget for full digital origination, they believe their only option is no digital sales options, or a simple generic Contact Us form. The reality is, they can use a product like Sandstone Technology’s Rapid Leads, which isn’t a big investment or a major change program, but it can have a big impact.
Much to gain with the right solution
Using a specific lead-generation form, FIs can ask a range of qualifying questions that ultimately improve the customer experience and make the processing of leads more efficient. For example, in the case of a mortgage, they can ask a combination of:
• What’s the purpose of the loan?
• How much are you looking to borrow?
• When is a good time to contact you?
• How do you prefer to be contacted?
Answers to these questions enable the FI to craft a more personalised experience. In the follow-up conversation, they can jump straight into helping them with specific needs.
Because the form can be placed anywhere in the customer journey, the customer can complete the form within digital banking - when the query is in context. Form completion rates will rise, and banking staff can focus on converting, not chasing.
By contrast, FIs relying on generic contact forms or lacking digital enquiry options receive poor quality leads. Staff can't prioritise or identify urgent leads, leading to repeated contact attempts without knowing the best timing or preferred channel.
The suboptimal customer experience
Requiring customers to visit a branch or call a contact centre can be inconvenient, reducing satisfaction and conversion. Long phone queues with uncertain wait times add frustration and by the time an agent is available, the customer may no longer have time to talk. Visiting a branch involves travel, parking and waiting, further diminishing the experience.
Likewise, if the FI doesn’t already have information about the customer, they might end up having to pass the customer around multiple teams until they get the right person – not a great way to build customer engagement and brand loyalty long term.
What does an FI actually need?
According to Michelle, FIs need a combination of specific sales lead-generation, app caps and digital origination in their toolkit.
That’s because customer preferences may vary. Some prefer a fully digital experience, while others seek human interaction for major decisions like buying a first home.
Where the customer is in their buying journey can also determine what’s appropriate. During research or shortlisting where they still need more information, a specialised sales lead generation form helps gather customer’s needs and direct leads appropriately. For those ready to buy, an app cap or a digital origination solution ensures the fastest means to an end.
Rapid Leads opens up customer choice
FIs today shouldn’t be limiting the ways customer can engage to open an account; end users need to be able to choose their preferred channel. That’s why existing Sandstone customers can self-configure Rapid Leads and apply it across the board: on their public website, in their Sandstone-powered mobile banking apps or online banking, Kurt points out.
“If the FI were to go with a generic lead-gen solution, they might not have this flexibility,” Kurt says. As Kurt explains, while it’s a fairly simple exercise to add the form to a public website, integrating it into mobile banking apps and internet banking platforms introduces greater complexity. The customer is coming through an authenticated channel and the FI needs to integrate with existing data.
And for FIs that choose to build a sales lead-gen contact form inhouse, beware: it isn’t a build-once-and-walk-away scenario. The form will need to be updated, as browsers update. Security patches will need to be applied.
As Kurt says, “In our market scan we discovered lead gen forms that were broken – and the FI might not even realise it’s broken because they built it and walked away.”
Why Rapid Leads?
Sandstone Technology’s Rapid Leads solution can help turn every customer interaction into a sales opportunity.
Rapid Leads is a specific sales lead generation solution providing lead capture for any type of banking product, with self-configurable questions, labels and content. Essentially it offers FIs a new digital channel without the cost of digital origination.
For that reason, one of Sandstone’s priorities with Rapid Leads was around ease of onboarding. “We wanted to keep it as short and pain-free as possible, given this might be the start of an FI’s digital transformation journey,” Michelle says.
It also enhances lead quality by allowing tailored forms for each product, ensuring leads reach the right sales team immediately.
To find out more about how Rapid Leads could assist you in capturing quality leads in real-time, and increasing your conversion rates, download the brochure or contact the Sandstone Technology team today.
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