Arizona Business Owners: 3 Trends in the Banking Industry You Need to Know
As the banking sector in Arizona continues to change, staying ahead of the curve requires business owners to keep track of emerging trends in banking. From digital banking to the changing customer, read on to learn more about what’s in store for the future of banking in Arizona.
Key Trends in the Banking Industry
1. Generation Z Is The New Customer
As tech evolves, the Gen Z customer base widens. In 2023, there will be more adult Gen Zs than adolescents for the first time—and this has caught the attention of banks. The digitally-driven generation already relies heavily on online banking for their finances and this trend is only going to grow stronger.
Business owners in the banking sphere are beginning to grab the attention of the younger users by:
- Building brand awareness in the form of social media content: It’s no secret that in recent years, communities across Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms have become imperative to the finance industry. This is because the rise of Finfluencers and the FinTok community has given Gen Zers new ways to build their financial literacy.
- Solidifying their image: Researching what to adopt and what not to adopt is muscle memory to Gen Z. To them, reviews and word-of-mouth hold more importance than their individual histories with the brands. Insider Intelligence data shows that consumers now express more trust in entities like PayPal over their current primary bank or credit union.
- Prioritizing privacy and personalized experiences: Data privacy has become a prevalent conversation among Gen Z consumers in recent years. Brands that offer rigid privacy rules for their users and personalized experiences (exclusive cashback, discount codes, etc.) are the ones that Gen Z sticks to.
2. Chatbot AIs Are Here To Stay
It is predicted that chatbots will be the main customer service tool for 25% of companies by 2027, according to Gartner’s research. And banks in Arizona have had the short end of the technological stick recently.
But 2023 just might be the year it all changes. The rise of chatbots and virtual assistants as a worthy tech investment in the upcoming year is already a well-established fact among retailers. Banking will benefit tremendously from chatbot AIs’ adaptability.
Business owners can benefit significantly by orchestrating chatbots that can provide customers with automated answers to FAQs, reduce call center volume, and free up staff time for more valuable tasks. By 2023, these technologies are set to become the norm in banking apps across smartphones and tablets.
Multiple banks across the US, China, India, and Latin America have already started to implement chatbots, and banks in Arizona are taking notes.
3. Customer Experience Over Everything
In this day and age, many consumers expect their banking business to be digital. But many financial service leaders are providing a less-than-perfect digital customer experience. This mismatch is a massive market for business owners. Banks in Arizona are set to undergo a digital transformation to prioritize the customer experience. Design solutions that meet all the customers’ needs in terms of convenience and security will be in high demand in the next year.
Customers are already volunteering with feedback and their preferences in hopes of letting business owners build services that offer them more convenience than what current banking apps do. In 2023, the ability to meet customer needs and provide hassle-free, intuitive experiences will differentiate banks from their competitors.
Inspiring Customers
The digitization of banking has opened multiple doors for business owners in 2023. The trends revolve mostly around transforming banking into customer experience-driven services and inspiring customers to latch onto the brands and reward them in their pursuits.
