For financial service professionals, it’s important to meet the needs of their customers and clients. But it’s equally important that they ensure they’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to harnessing the latest technological solutions that can make their job — and the consumer’s experience — as frictionless as possible.

That’s why Greg Blausey, Senior Director of Banking Industry Solutions & Strategy at Salesforce, and Amir Madjlessi, Managing Director and Banking Industry Advisor at Salesforce, are dedicated to helping banks stay ahead in the data race. 

Greg and Amir bring a commitment to (and insights on) streamlining processes within financial institutions to better serve the customer and allow financial professionals to focus on what they do best.

Why fresh and representative data level-ups AI strategy

AI has accelerated the conversation regarding digital implementation, but not all AI is created equal. Bad AI can lead to bad data, and that’s the last thing any bank needs when trying to build a well-rounded customer experience. 

“The industry has been on this data cleanse — a refresh — to truly understand the value of the data they hold,” Greg said. “Now, in this world that we're in, it's not only the data, but what data has a shelf life of usefulness, and how do I consume it? How do I harmonize and unify that data so that I've got one understanding of who my customer is?”

If banks aim to deliver on the promises of AI, those are some of the questions they need to answer. There must be clarity and focus before tossing AI into the mix and hoping for the best.

It’s crucial to test data and ensure it is whole and representative of the base that you want to serve and, further, that you've got the right amount of data and that it's fresh data. Models learn from the data you provide.

The other side of the coin is putting what you learn into action and not simply amassing information.

“It's a race without a finish line because the amount of data that's accumulating daily is endless. In financial services, it's a knowledge-based industry, and so it's also a question of, ‘How do I now interpret that information as a business leader?’” Amir said.

Teams must work together to deliver a successful customer experience by building a cohesive system providing intelligent service — collaboration is a must to achieve such an outcome.

How to determine what data is relevant and where to source it 

With the abundance of data available today, it can be challenging to weed out the useful vs superfluous type. 

To help simplify the process, Amir unpacked two types of data sources: 

• Banking application data
• Third-party data

“With a core banking application, we might want to access transaction information or even transaction details in a service context,” he said. “There's also data that might be provided and integrated via a third party, a data aggregator.”

A recent study on the Salesforce customer base reported that 71% of applications at an organization are disconnected, leaving a sizable gap of opportunity, with valuable data either not being collected or being ignored.

“There's also streaming data, whether it's mobile or online engagement, or there's batch data, because maybe sometimes the integration effort is Herculean, if you will, in nature, and it doesn't feel like that's achievable by some clients,” Amir said. 

To decrease the daunting feeling of data collection, banks need to find out: 

• What they need,
• For what reason,
• For which persona, and
• Where that information will come from 

The goal is a simple, streamlined process customers are comfortable engaging with. Sourcing the right data before attempting to create a customer experience can make all the difference.

What metrics to look at to track operational improvements

The method for measuring improvements depends on where your starting point is — a marketer will be looking at the effectiveness of their campaigns and personalization efforts and how they translate to sales. 

For others, it may be as simple as tracking CSAT scores. Either way, measuring the impact of implemented changes is just as important as making those changes.

With AI and other tech advances comes the chance for:

• Expedited turnarounds
• Increased sales productivity
• Decreased lag time between pitch and decision
• Higher conversion rates 

But it doesn’t stop there.

“If we're being honest, every organization has very similar financial ratios they need to improve, whether that's efficiency or net income or constant deposits or funding — what are the real levers and drivers that we can pull on to go forward in an outperformance way?” Amir said.

These are still core competencies in the banking world, and with the right AI leverage and data collection, each one can see benefits and excel beyond the ordinary with the proper measurements in place. 

The data race may not have a finish line, but you can give yourself a shot at being front of the pack by jumping on the chance at going above and beyond. 

Stay tuned for new episodes biweekly on the Leaders in Lending Podcast.