Forrester Research

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Overview

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The retail financial services industry is at a crossroads as several convergent forces are disrupting the current landscape. Fueling the change is a major shift in the needs of consumers. Baby boomers are preparing in earnest for retirement, while Generations X and Y are pushing for more online services. At the same time, the level of competition in the industry will intensify as traditional firms focus on top-line growth and new entrants push the envelope with innovative products and services. All of this is happening while existing technologies are enabling a host of new sales and service capabilities that cut across interaction channels and traditional product lines.

What skills will financial services firms need to succeed in the new landscape? Forrester has identified four key competencies:

Deep consumer insight. As customer needs shift, it will become even more important for firms to understand their needs. Improvements in behavioral research and analytics will help firms create more detailed customer segments — and provide a deeper understanding of customer relationships across products and channels.
Tailored customer experiences. From service interactions to cross-sell marketing messages, financial services firms will customize interactions and offerings to meet the needs and opportunities of different customer segments.
Rapid product and service innovations. The growing use of new channels combined with more flexible service-oriented IT architectures will enable firms to craft new offerings. Companies will blend products and services to package solutions that can better meet consumers' changing financial needs.
Cross-channel process agility. Using service-oriented architectures (SOAs) and tools like BPM, firms will continually create, adjust, and automate processes like new account-opening and lead management that integrate self-service and full-service channels.

In-Depth Breakout Sessions

Best Practices In Online Banking.
Best Practices In Online Security And Fraud Prevention.
Creating Agility With Business Process Management.
Best Practices In Financial Services Marketing.
Best Practices For Managing Enterprise Risk And Compliance.
Consumer Insights: Credit And Debit Cards.

Key Questions That This Forum Will Answer

Where is the retail financial services industry heading?
What new skills and technologies will be required of your firm to contend in this new marketplace?
How can firms blend online and full-service channels to compete?