According to data from Forrester, when banks make their customers feel valued, they’re 87% more likely to stay with—and advocate for—that bank. Customer experience (CX) can impact a bank’s reputation while potentially influencing a bank’s bottom line. That same Forrester data highlights that a 1-point CX Index score increase can lead to an incremental $123 million in revenue for a large multichannel bank—and $92 million for a direct bank.

Traditionally, banks have built loyalty with their commercial customers by emphasizing strong personal relationships and providing industry and financial expertise to help businesses grow. “Most financial institutions, particularly community banks and credit unions, have a deep understanding of their clients’ businesses,” said Dan Skaggs, head of product at Elan Financial Services. “They have expertise and they understand their clients’ challenges and opportunities. They also pride themselves on providing personal service.”

Necessary, but not sufficient

The foundation of strong CX that sustains and reinforces commercial customer loyalty lies in personalized service, business expertise and solid relationships. But it’s also not enough by itself. Indeed, more and more of the customer journey has migrated to digital channels and expanded to include not only business owners and chief financial officers but also employees. The result is that strong (or weak) CX can manifest itself across the customer journey.

“The customer experience and customer service today are increasingly, and sometimes entirely, digital,” said Courtney Wood, group product manager at Elan Financial Services. Unfortunately, many financial institutions have not devoted the resources to improving digital experiences for commercial customers, choosing instead to focus digital transformation investments on individual consumers

High expectations

It's important to remember, however, that the CX expectations of commercial customers are heavily influenced by their own personal experiences as consumers—which are increasingly personalized and digitally seamless.

“They are expecting more consumer-like experiences with their commercial experiences, including seamless experiences across channels,” Wood said. “It’s not just connecting with a banker on the phone or in a branch. It’s also getting that same personalized experience by chat or email. The customer expects the same experience in each of the channels.

Forging emotional connections

Closing the gap between in-person and online banking experiences and forging strong emotional connections with commercial customers is an opportunity for financial institutions to differentiate themselves. In part, that’s about recognizing that commercial CX has a broader audience than financial institutions think.

“CX is not just about the CFO or the financial decision maker. It’s also about the employee experience,” Skaggs said. “So, if you think about expense management or having a corporate card program, what does the employee experience look like? Many of those employees don’t have a choice when they’re interacting with a financial institution, and you want their experience to be great.”

CX that establishes emotional connections can help. Consistent and personalized in-person and digital experiences are a big part of the solution. “Emotional connections go beyond just the person-to-person relationship and build dependability and trust,” Wood said. “It’s also about the products that you offer, how they function, and how you're able to service the customer across channels and meet their needs, wherever they're at.”

Saving customers time

Demonstrating respect for a commercial customer’s time is one way to build a strong emotional connection. For example, few things frustrate customers more than having to supply the same information repeatedly. A seamless omnichannel experience should integrate as much customer information as possible.

“The relationship your institution has built over years collects a lot of data and preferences that can be used in a thoughtful manner,” Skaggs said. “When you do that and incorporate it digitally, the result is fewer clicks, less information that has to be filled out and a lot of time saved.”

Improved employee experience

Making life easier for a commercial customer’s employees strengthens emotional connections and bolsters CX. For example, collecting and getting reimbursed for expenses can be a source of frustration for both employees who submit them and those who must process and approve them. By contrast, the Elan Financial Services Commercial Rewards Card provides a common platform that eliminates the need to process paper receipts manually and automatically ensures the enforcement of a company’s expense policy.

This is possible because the platform captures and reads receipts, auto-matches transactions and provides fraud protection and policy enforcement. A single platform also eliminates the need to use spreadsheets and disparate systems for expense processing while providing company-wide clarity on monthly expenditures.

Combining a single platform with the Elan Commercial Rewards Card also enhances the rewards a business can earn. These include access to rebates at lower spend thresholds than other commercial cards and no annual fee.

The simplicity, transparency and financial benefits the Elan Financial Services Commercial Rewards Card and platform deliver send a powerful message about a financial institution’s priorities. “At the end of the day, it’s not about the bank,” Skaggs said. “It’s really about what the bank can do for the business. We want to enable them to grow and succeed through the tools we provide.”

To learn more about the advantages the Elan Commercial Rewards Card could bring to your business, connect with a corporate payment solutions expert today