How do you make banking products stand
out in an industry defined by passionlessness?
Learn to harness the power of soulful
user experiences .
Do your digital banking products empathize with users? For most brands, the answer is a resounding no.
Many digital banking user experiences are tedious and confusing because they lack one core element – soul.
A Human-Centered
Perspective
If you’re looking to elevate your brand and drive customer loyalty, it’s time to rethink user experiences from a human-centered perspective. One study suggests One study suggests that 57% of consumers said they would be more loyal to a human-centered brand. In addition, human-centered brands have a 19% edge over non-human brands when it comes to how likely they are to be “loved” by customers.
Modern customers expect a meaningful, high-quality interaction with products. Unfortunately, many customers also feel frustrated when dealing with digital products because they fail in three key ways:
- They don’t care about our problems.
- They don’t evoke an emotional response
- They don’t offer personalization.
By adopting a human-centered design, you can position your brand above the rest as one that’s known for its humanity.
The Principles of
Human-Centered Design
Three core principles ensure your product embraces a human-centered design and drive loyalty through user experiences.
1. Social Virtue
Today’s society expects brands to take a stand on something that matters and build customer experiences that show customers your dedication to living out your stance.
Consider the Starbucks #Extrashotofpride campaign which started in 2019. The company teamed up with the Born This Way Foundation and pledged to match any donation up to $250k. The campaign generates a tremendous amount of social media support each year. Consumers responded with resounding support to this campaign because Starbucks represented social virtues that they wanted to get behind.
With 77% of consumers reporting that they prefer to buy brands that align with their values, Dove’s success is unsurprising.
2. Industry Disruption .
Disrupting the status quo of your industry in the name of progress for the customer humanizes your brand by giving you socially progressive meaning beyond financial gain. It gives your brand a higher purpose to which people feel intrinsically drawn.
Many fintech products have already led the way in disrupting the industry in the name of social progress. Consider Revolut, which offers financial freedom from traditional banks as a sustainable alternative, or Chime, which makes banking accessible, positioning the customer to profit alongside them.
With 64% of US consumers reporting that they believe companies should exist to make the world a better place, the more you can position your brand as a forward-thinking industry revolutionary, the better.
3. Emotional Connection .
If you want customers to maintain loyalty to your brand for more extended periods, you need to establish a meaningful emotional connection. An emotionally connected customer generates 52% more annual value than one who is highly satisfied
Our brains are always trying to create structure and find patterns to shape our realities, so giving people a story makes it easy to connect emotionally with your brand. For example:
- As people push the boundaries of what’s physically possible, Nike is there encouraging them to make it past the finish line.
- Through all the trials and tribulations of finding creative solutions to the world’s problems, Apple is proud to provide tools to help ideas take shape.
Remember, your customer is the main character, and your brand is there to help them find their way along the hero’s journey.
How to Create a
Human-Centered User Experience
Use your knowledge of the existing preferences of your consumers to make your user experiences feel personal.
Here are three ways to create human-centered user experiences that drive brand loyalty.
1. Give back to your community in some way.
Create a sustainability initiative that associates your brand with the movement for environmental conservation efforts, or commit to practices that create equitable opportunity internally and for customers.
2. Research the pain points of customers.
Make an impact with your brand by establishing yourself as a thought leader and problem solver, an organization that seeks to create more opportunities for the customer. Break down the stereotype of the complex, isolating financial industry by bringing a higher purpose to your brand’s existence.
3. Get to know customers better than they know themselves.
Gather as many data points as possible. Consider their entertainment preferences – what are their favorite television shows? Musicians? Consider their purchasing habits – what services do they subscribe to? Which brands have already won their loyalty? Use this information to build deep, meaningful emotional connections with your users.
The design needs to be human-centered for digital banking products to drive customer loyalty. Be one of the first in the banking industry to simulate an authentic connection that appeals to users’ humanity with human-centered design.
