According to a recent survey report by Allegiance - Pulse of America Survey, there are 4 key areas banks need to engage with customers.
Helpful Service: Customers like doing business with a bank that saves them time and money. Banks have focused on wait times, and overall, they are meeting customer expectations. But saving time is not limited to waiting in line. For example, online banking services should be easy to use and understand, which creates a strong avenue to build engagement.
Clear Communications: Customers are reluctant to rely on banks for unbiased financial information, yet they thirst for knowledge about the newest and best products and services available to them. Customers are saying you can connect with me emotionally by telling me about a product that is relevant to my situation.
Personal Connection: Customers say that their one-on-one experiences with bank representatives (tellers, loan officers, or managers) have a meaningful effect on their engagement, both positive and negative. Banks should not underestimate the power of each one-on-one experience in building lasting engagement, and they should establish training and processes to establish best practices.
Respect: Banks must do better at making customers feel respected. Engaged customers cite bank reps who deliver service with speed and confidence. Dissatisfied customers cite bank fees as causing stress, which makes them feel less respected. In particular, some customers feel disrespected when banks game the system to increase bank fees wherever they can. The message to banks: Engaged customer are also savvy customers and expect to be treated fairly.
I quite agree with personal connection as an important engagement pillar, as technology is taking away personalized service from banking. Hence, banks need to identify ways of building personal connection with customers as they invest more in self-service technologies.