The document outlines essential strategies for effective customer onboarding in banking, emphasizing the importance of personalized communication and ongoing engagement to foster customer loyalty and trust. It details a step-by-step process that includes assigning dedicated personnel, targeting account holders, collecting data, and measuring results to enhance the onboarding experience. A focus on multichannel communication, customer insights, and a gradual approach is recommended to build a robust onboarding process.

1. Customer On-boarding
in Banking

2. Some Quick facts on Customer onboarding in Banks
A successful on boarding program is not easy
On boarding requires a strategy that shows the customer;
-you know them well
-that you will look out for their individual needs
-you will ultimately reward them for their business
Customer on boarding is an ongoing process, communications gateway
/additional communication that will;
-become a ‘Long-term Relationship’
-moving the customer from the ‘Engagement Stage to the Relationship Stage
-Finally leading the customer to ‘Loyalty Stage of the consumer life cycle’
As powerful as a good on boarding strategy can be, it can also destroy “trust” if not
done correctly .If trust is broken, this usually leads to attrition quickly
25-40%-First
year rate of
attrition among
top 100
institution

3. Step-1
Assign a specific employee for Customer On boarding. His
activities include;
A single point-of-contact for on boarding process
Managing budgets, goals, measurement of program
success, work across product, channel & marketing
Departments
Without a person dedicated to this, on boarding
process will lack focus/may never get initiated
Step-2
Include all Account Holders(Old & New)
On boarding is an ongoing process that should include
both new & old account holders. Also On boarding
process should be done for all types of accounts like
Deposit & Advances

4. Step-3
Target the Right Account Holders
A strong targeting strategy helps to acquire households willing to
build a broader relationship than just one account. The more
targeted the acquisition strategy, the greater the potential for on
boarding success
Another way to improve your acquisition results is to
continuously engage with customer like “Direct Mails/Mass
Media” that can optimize your overall investment
Step-4
Collect Data/Insights from day One
The ability to personalize communications & provide targeted solutions is based on the;
Demographic
Behavioral
Social insights
The collection of insight doesn’t stop at the new accounts, but should continue during
the entire on boarding process using surveys that should build a customer profile.

5. Step-4 Cont…
Day 2
oWelcome Letter
oHow did you first learn about
us?
oAccount Opening process
satisfaction
Day 60
Customer Satisfaction
survey
Relevant Offers
Between 30-90 days there
should be cross selling like
Insurance, RD’s,MF’s
Day 180
•Internet/Mobile/
Utility Payment
satisfaction survey
The Challenge is to balance the desire for collecting more insights either in person or through
digital channels with the need to simplify the account opening process
Step-5
Communicate with the New Account Holders early
The sooner you reconnect with the new account holders ,the more
successful you will be in building dialogue & engagement
“A simple SMS stating Thank You is a great way to start an on
boarding process”

6. Communicate with the account holders Regularly
One of the biggest misconceptions by financial institutions is that new account holders
don’t want to get a lot of messages after opening a new account. But according to
research studies-satisfaction & cross-selling success will both improve as the number of
contacts are increased up to 4 times & is till effective if the customer is communicated
with as many as 7 times during the first 90 days.
Personalize Communication
Step-6
Step-7
Show the consumer that you know them & understand their
needs. The goal is to mine the data on the customer to Generate
marketing messages that are customer specific
It is important to build a communication channels strategy for
each customer ‘based on the channels they use & respond to best’

7. Step-8
Step-9
Start with a Simple
“Thank You”
This can be done by SMS or E-Mail immediately after the customer
completes account opening. Some organizations have developed local
‘Surprise/Delight’ offers from local merchants to provide as a Thank You
Build engagement before selling
Nobody likes sales messages before you have earned trust.
Start your on boarding process with various solutions like
Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Bill payment option etc.
The positive impact of these services alone can increase
relationship by more that $ 400

8. Step-10
Step-11
Don’t forget your ‘Brand’
New customers are not necessarily familiar
with your brand. Let them know what
makes your organization special. Make
sure that all on boarding communications
reinforces your brand & provides the
customers with reasons to refer your Bank
to their friends
Customers respond to offers that relate to
accounts they hold in your Bank.
Ex: You can have a reward program, to
leverage as a part of customer
engagement
Provide Personalized Offers

9. Step-12
Step-13
Start your Communications with Mail/E-Mail
For on boarding traditional Direct Mail/E-Mail is a great
foundation for future communication. There is often 1.5 to 3*
lift in results.
Ex:38% of US Households surveyed preferred receiving
postal mail compared to 17% desiring information over digital
channels
Today’s Digital Customer is more likely to open your E-Mail on their phone than
their desk. These customers are also open to receiving SMS messages & targeted
offers in their Mobile Bank App. Leveraging multiple channels like e-mail, phone,
SMS text, online, mobile banking, videos, ATM etc allows you to appeal to
customers channel preferences while delivering a highly personalized message that
will positively impact results
Integrate all
Possible Channels

10. Step-14
Step-15
Leverage your Local presence
‘Branch phone call follow-up’ can improve on boarding results
significantly & is a great use of ‘Branch Down-Time’
The use of partnering with local merchants for non-financial
offers also is a great way to leverage bank’s local presence
Build Custom ‘Jump Pages’
Several Banks have unique jump pages that are specifically designed for
new customers providing step-by-step instructions on how to take the
best advantage of services. Many of these jump pages have links like
“Go With” service pages providing easy applications and additional
education on the service

11. •Use your VISA Debit Card for ATM/POS transactions
•Bank will send you an e-statement every month end
to your registered mail ID Keep your ATM PIN Confidential
•Do not respond to any call/mails stating to provide your
account details because bank does not call/mail any
customer asking for account details
Catholic Syrian Bank
Know your Savings Bank Account
Know your Account
Manage Your
Account
Pay Bills
Mobile Recharge
Electricity Bill
Phone Bills
Recharge DTH
Water Bill
Insurance Premium
Loan Payments
Credit Cards Bill Payment
Know your Account
Manage Your
Account
Pay Bills
Mobile Recharge
Pay Bills will enable you to pay;

12. Step-16 Integrate Video as
Engagement Tool
Short form of video that is built for ‘mobile devices
viewing’ is a highly effective selling tool especially when
it includes “links to open a new account/service”. These
short-form videos can be focused on ‘providing
instruction around the use of digital services’
Step-17 Maximize Digital Retargeting
This can be done by ;
-e-mail retargeting
-Facebook retargeting
-Mobile
-CRM retargeting
The entire process should be automated
through Bank’s IT Systems
Many
retargeting
programs can
generate lift in
results of 2-3X
use of a single
communication
channels

13. Step-18 Selling on ‘Mobile’
The use of Alerts & Sales Messages within mobile banking re-inforces other channels.
Thinking outside the box, some banks use behavioral insights to offer engagement &
‘next most likely products’
Ex: Bank of America has gone as far as prompting customers with merchant-funded
offers
Welcome to XYZ Bank Mobile Banking App
Username:
M-Pin:
Login
Click here to Get helpful
Insurance Tips
Watch Now
Contact Us

14. Step-19 Measure Results
While most banks miss this or avoid this, i.e “Measurement of Results”.
However measurement involves the following steps;
How did a particular sale happen?
Who should get the credit for it?
How much credit should be attributed to each consumer interaction
across channels/on what basis?
How should the investment be apportioned across channels?
Step-20
Continue to test ‘frequency, targeting, offers & other
components of your multichannel on boarding
process’. The key is to test messages, timing, offers
to optimize your specific program from both
customer & Bank’s perspective
Test & Learn

15. Step-21
oOne of the biggest impediments to on boarding success is not getting started. Instead
of trying to build the ‘perfect’ on boarding process, “start small & build layers on a
strong foundation”
oNo financial institution has stopped an on boarding program once they have initiated
the process because Return-On-Invest(RIO) even in the worst case scenario is always
positive & this is proved among various Banks
oIf you don’t have a multichannel on boarding process in place already, start with the
basics & move forward incrementally.
The learning's along with the way will serve you well as you build a
more robust process

16. Anup George Rebello
Asst.Manager
The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd