Building Digital Experiences that Drive Trust

In today’s multi-channel environment, banks and other fintech companies must develop the kinds of financial products that build trust and strengthen consumer loyalty, all while delivering value to the customer and the organization. These digital products must also meet–and exceed–customer expectations.

While all of these elements are integral to launching successful digital products, consumer trust is the critical ingredient that will be the crucial factor in users deciding to do business with a company. That being the case, banks and other financial institutions need to keep the following in mind when either enhancing current or creating new digital products and services for their customers.

Security

It goes without saying that every digital product conceived, designed and launched should have security as its foundation. And with good reason. According to cybersecurity firm Check Point, an astonishing 703 cyberattack attempts are made on financial firms every week. Breaches are becoming more common, and as more digital products are connected to a multitude of devices and payment platforms, the risks of cybersecurity attacks and data breaches go up exponentially. And they are expensive.

In 2022, the average cost of a data breach in the global financial industry was an eye-popping $6 million, which was second only to the healthcare industry, according to Statista. Not only do data breaches cost banks and other financial institutions money, they also cost something even more valuable: trust.

In a world of ransomware, phishing and fraud, security should be the cornerstone of all digital products that you develop. Without a robust security platform in place for your digital transactions, it will be difficult to achieve trust with your customers. If they don’t feel confident that their personal information is safe and secure, they will go elsewhere to transact business.

Building in such security is a complex process. For instance, it’s important that your digital products have security measures such as encryption, two-factor authentication and other security measures that will keep customer data and transactions secure and private.

Does your IT team have the level of skill needed to confidently include sophisticated security measures that customers demand today?

The Customer Experience

Even though digital technology has become more complex and sophisticated, using your product should be simple, understandable, and almost intuitive for the end-user. Customers trying to navigate a digital product that is too complex or confusing will quickly abandon the product and doing business with the company.

End-users place great trust in those brands that are consistent and easy to use. They expect the product to work as it has done in the past and in the future. They expect that their data will be kept secure and the transaction will be kept private.

Customer service and trust are uniquely intertwined. It takes time to find and keep customers, and it takes even more time to build trust with those customers. If the user experience becomes inconsistent, customers will grow frustrated and lose trust very quickly. Trust can be destroyed in just one or two bad experiences.

So it is key to keep your customers’ experience in mind as your product is developed and launched. It’s also important that the product continues to deliver over time so that your users come to build even more trust in both the product and your brand. Confidence breeds trust.

Does your development team truly understand what is at stake in creating your next digital product?

Reliability

Reliability is not the same as security, although it’s hard to have one without the other. This is especially true when so many financial institutions now provide service to their customers through third-party vendors. While those relationships have opened up numerous opportunities, they can also be fraught with concerns.

In fact, VMware reports that 87 percent of financial institutions are worried about security with their shared service providers.

Just as your users come to trust your products and brand through their user-experience, they also will develop a deep-seated confidence and trust when those products deliver reliably every time. If your product is inconsistent or unreliable in its promise, people will move to another company that can ensure that reliability.

We all know that there are occasional glitches and issues in digital technology. If that happens with your product, moving swiftly to correct the problem, and more importantly, acknowledging and apologizing for the problem, can rebuild trust very quickly. If these things are not done, trust will erode fast.

Does your digital product team know how to develop a digital product that functions reliably every time?

Remember that when your customers are transacting business with your company, it is your company’s values, mission and integrity that are on the line. Your end-users trust that your company has made a promise to them, and that you will keep it. Continually strengthening this promise will strengthen their trust, making your brand even stronger.

So it is imperative that when you develop and launch a digital product that you do it with careful thought and planning. More importantly, it’s important that you have the bench talent to create the kinds of digital products that your customers expect from you. If you are lacking in that talent, partner with an experienced company that can help you navigate all the complexities that building digital products present in today’s challenging digital world.

If you focus on security, reliability and customer experience, trust in your organization will grow as customers continually do business with you. This confidence will result in increasing sales and revenue for years.

Ready to get started? Talk to the 3Pillar Global team today.