Only a minority of FS providers exploit the potential of web 2.0 tools, according to a new study from GFT, Impact of Social Media on the Financial Services Sector. The company conducted the study together with researchers from the IESE Business School in Barcelona. It reveals that companies concentrate instead on one-way social marketing activities, rather than integrating social media elements into customer relationship processes. The study found that social CRM gives banks the opportunity to create tailor-made services through the gathering and analysis of Big Data.

Christopher Ortiz, managing director at GFT UK, says: “The study shows that, until now, most 2.0 initiatives in the finance industry have been focused on social marketing; in other words, they have served more as new channels of one-way communication, through which institutions have sent out messages, offers and information about their services or have collected data about their own customers. The moment has now come to go one step further and achieve true direct interaction through social media channels. This means proper two-way communication between customer and financial institution. Social media will not be a true opportunity for banks until they can share in the customer’s experience, understand and anticipate the customer’s needs and respond quickly and effectively to those needs. Combined with the impact of mobility on banking, social media is a potentially game-changing offering for financial institutions.”

A large number of new business models including elements based on the social web will emerge in the coming years and will expand the financial business. The study claims that, thanks to social media, there are further new ideas that have been advanced for financial services. For example, peer-to-peer (P2P) loans or micropayments, or banking communities. Although some of these new models have not been adopted at a large scale in the global financial market, it is important to watch them to see how they evolve because they can become new lines of business for financial institutions in the not too distant future.

As for Big Data, the huge volume of quality data that can be extracted on customers (relationships, trips, behaviour patterns,etc.) is a major opportunity for banks to be able to design and implement tailor-made marketing with each of its customers, that is better suited to their needs. In fact, taking advantage of the use of social media and its convergence with other factors, such as mobility via smartphones, is vital for banks to be able to accompany their customers at all times and, wherever they might be, to be able to offer services that are best suited to their needs or a fast response to any problem that may arise.

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