September/October 2014
Wisconsin Community Banker
33
Locknet® Managed IT Services –
One IT Vendor for Flagship Bank
The Challenge
Inefficiencies resulted from managing multiple IT vendors and contracts.
The Solution
Locknet® Managed IT Services full managed IT offering —
Keysuite
™.
“I never thought I would be able to get every IT service we needed from
one vendor. But, Locknet
®
does that and I have reduced my IT vendors
to one. And, I am impressed with how deep their knowledge of financial
institutions is. I am confident that we are compliant, secure, and protected.”
800.967.2645
“Locknet
®
takes the IT burdens
off our staff and allows us
to focus on other important
matters while having the
reassurance that we are
compliant with regulations.”
— Jackie Herman
Senior Vice President/CFO
Director of Operations
Flagship Bank
BUSINESS PROFILE:
Flagship Bank has offices
in Eden Prairie andWayzata,
Minnesota.
knowledge.
How can community banks survive
and thrive in this new environment?
The Millennial Disruption Index
provides a clue. The Index is a three-
year study from Scratch, an in-house
unit of Viacom. The study found that
one in three Millennials were open to
switching banks in the next 90 days.
Interestingly, four of the leading too-
big-to-fail banks are among their 10
least loved brands.
Unfortunately, the survey also
found that Millennials believe that
innovation in banking will come from
outside the industry. “Seventy-three
percent of Millennials would be more
excited about a new offering in finan-
cial services from Google, Amazon,
Apple, PayPal, or Square than from
their own nationwide bank.”
Bringing the Pieces Together
Dominguez stressed that keep-
ing up is not all about technology.
It’s about bringing the pieces — your
brand, technology, and analytics —
together to deliver a good customer
experience.
Like the television tavern, Cheers,
where everybody knew your name,
everyone likely knows your brand.
But no matter how much you invest
in your brand, it still may not resonate
with the market segment – the Millen-
nials – that you’re going after.
Where to begin? Banks will need to
run a market analysis across the orga-
nization. Analyze the site, the branch
evaluation, and planning. Understand
your brand and what your customer
thinks of your bank’s presence on the
Internet, on mobile, at the branch, and
via the call center experience. Even
your back office has now become part
of the experience ecosystem.
Identify what kind of experience
you want to offer your clients. How do
you ensure your focus on your bank’s
goals to deliver the customer experi-
ence that you intend?
Transforming Customer Experience
Technology enables a customer-
centric experience. Your customers
don’t buy to just buy. Banks must tie
technology back to the brand. Cross-
pollinate your active social media
channels to make sure your message
is consistent. Ensure that branches are
tightly integrated with other delivery
channels, giving customers channel
choice.
Dominguez suggested adding a
restaurant or coffee shop, community
space with technology, a concierge, or
a children’s area to a branch. Greeter
stations, a lounge area for mobile
deposit/banking demonstrations,
refreshments, and free WiFi are also
ways of enhancing and leveraging
the customer’s experience. Add staff
to offer lending advice, tax planning,
financial planning, or brokerage ser-
vices. Create a smart office for SBA
loans.
Will branches remain cornerstones
for acquiring and retaining deposits
and growing profitability? “With fewer
transactions taking place in brick-
and-mortar branches, the focus shifts
to advice, loans, and small business
services.” The implementation of self-
service technology in branches will
free branch staff to spend more time
with customers and to build long-
lasting relationships.
