How to Attract 'Digital-First' Customers at Your Financial Institution with Document Management
Attracting and retaining customers at financial institutions requires meeting their expectations for convenience and tech – and their expectations are high. They want anywhere, anytime access and the ability to open accounts and apply for loans without stepping foot in a branch.
This is especially true for Gen Z (born in 1997-2012). They’re the first fully digital generation – they don’t know a world without social media, email, and Google at their fingertips. In fact, being digital is so embedded in their daily lives that Fast Company says it’s “fundamental to their existence.”
It makes sense, then, that going digital is key for attracting and retaining customers in these tech-savvy generations. That’s why thousands of financial institutions implement a cloud-based document management system (DMS).
Here are three ways a DMS can help you meet the high expectations of these younger customers.
- Simplified Collaboration and Increased Convenience
Having mobile, 24/7 access to documents with the ability to quickly send information and eSign agreements is not just nice-to-have; the newer generations see this as a necessity. They tend to be on the go and need to complete paperwork from their mobile devices.
With multi-device accessibility, easy to use workflows, and built-in collaboration tools, your DMS can enable customers (and employees) to securely upload, organize, eSign, and share documents on any device at any time. This makes it simpler and more convenient for people across your branch to collaborate.
Take for example a mortgage loan with two applicants-one is at home and the other is traveling out of town. The paperwork needs to get signed as soon as possible to lock in an interest rate before an anticipated increase. Rather than one party having to find a printer and fax machine, offering the documentation digitally with eSignature allows your customers to quickly review and sign documents from wherever they are. - Quick, Yet Personalized Service
Many financial institutions struggle with quick, speedy service. Why? Because their manual processes and disjointed systems hinder collaboration and productivity.
“We used to save the documents on our local server and manually send them to our customers individually,” Alex Fernandes, Process Analyst for BayFirst Financial said. This process slowed teams down, leaving new customers waiting longer than necessary to open their accounts. Now, BayFirst saves documents in SmartVault.
“When time is of the essence, we value being able to process documentation and get it to the customer quicker and securely. We also receive a faster response from the customer than when everything went through email.”
A DMS also limits business disruptions, as everything is tracked, managed, and shared in a secure, centralized hub – 100% online. If an employee calls in sick, your office closes due to severe weather, or a customer can’t come into the branch, business doesn’t have to halt. Your team and customers can stay in sync from wherever they’re located. This helps you meet their on-demand expectations. - Secure Data, Always
More than likely, your customers have already chosen to bank with you for one simple reason: trust. “Trust is dynamic and a very fragile concept that can be easily eroded by a security breach, data leak, or a privacy violation,” says Luke Kiely, SmartVault, CISO.
“In the modern workplace, a data breach or cyber incident can absolutely shatter that trust, causing customers and staff to abandon the affected business in favor of competitors with better cybersecurity and trustworthiness.”
Without an organized system for securely storing, managing, and accessing the documents your institution handles, important files can be lost, misplaced, or mishandled. This is where a document management system and client portal come in.
How to Choose a DMS for Your Financial Institution
One of your top priorities should be implementing a DMS that provides you with the organization, security, and efficiency needed to stay compliant and better serve customers. Here are things you should look for in a DMS:
- Bank-grade security that’ll protect your data with the strongest security measures
- Automated cloud backups for availability if your local systems are damaged, lost, etc.
- Version control and activity tracking to preserve history and access previous versions
- Encryption at rest and transit and robust access controls to restrict who can view, edit, and delete documents
- Mobile access so you can access and collaborate on documents from anywhere
- Indexing and search to quickly find documents
- An integrated client portal to collaborate online
With SmartVault, you’ll have a cloud-based document management system and client portal that prioritizes security and compliance and makes it more secure for you, your staff, and your customers to work together online. See why over 3 million people use SmartVault – schedule a demo today.
