New Study Urges Financial Services Firms to Look Beyond Their Industry for Digital Experience Innovation

NEW YORK, May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Insight, the leading provider of competitive intelligence and user experience research to the financial services industry, today published a study, The Innovation Advantage, which examines how financial services firms can improve their digital experiences by adopting best practices from cutting-edge technology innovators outside the industry. The report reveals a number of weaknesses in the way financial institutions currently serve clients and prospects across a variety of contexts, from goal planning to document exchange to financial education and more. It also reviews the capabilities offered by 31 leading firms outside the industry that provide analogous experiences in more engaging and effective ways.

"In the financial services industry, innovation is not a strength," said Corey Limmer, senior research associate at Corporate Insight and lead author of the study. "To remain competitive and appeal to increasingly tech-savvy consumers, firms need to learn from top non-financial websites, apps and technology providers and rethink the experience they provide through the online and mobile channels."

The report examines seven core areas where financial services firms should look to innovators to enhance their digital offerings:

• Gamification – By leveraging users' competitive instincts, several firms outside the financial services industry, like SuperBetter, FlexScore and Recyclebank, have developed tactics that could be used to shape financial clients' saving, spending and investing behaviors.

• Goal-setting – Innovative goal-based websites and apps such as Up! by Jawbone and Nike+ Running offer examples of how financial firms can help clients identify and track various financial goals within a unified, supportive interface.

• News – By adapting cutting-edge techniques used by news platforms like Pocket and Quartz, financial services sites and apps can offer more tailored and interesting news content to clients.

• Document Management – As document storage and exchange capabilities expand in industry segments like wealth management and property and casualty insurance, services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Apple's Pages offer best practices for more streamlined and collaborative experiences.

• Education – Innovators like Duolingo, Elevate and Khan Academy provide powerful and engaging educational platforms, with elements that could greatly improve the typically unengaging and impersonal resources that financial services firms tend to offer.

• Security – Financial institutions should explore emerging biometric authentication techniques – including behavioral, iris/eye, cardiac and ear-based authentication – that offer a potentially more secure digital experience and a more user-friendly authentication process for customers.

• Augmented Reality (AR) – With upcoming wearable hardware from tech firms like Magic Leap and Microsoft, AR presents a host of opportunities to immerse users in digital overlays of information on their physical surroundings, creating possibilities in areas like complex data visualization and customer service.

"To compete in today's marketplace, financial services firms must embrace innovation and create new and more compelling digital experiences that engage consumers and inspire loyalty," said James McGovern, vice president, Consulting Services at Corporate Insight. "That means looking beyond traditional competitors – and the financial services industry itself – when considering ways to improve the web and mobile experience offered to both clients and prospects."

About Corporate Insight 
Corporate Insight provides competitive intelligence, consulting and user experience research to the nation's leading financial institutions and insurers. For more than two decades, the firm has tracked technological developments in the end-user online experience, identifying best practices in online banking and investing, mobile finance, social media and other emerging areas. Beginning with its work in the brokerage industry, Corporate Insight now offers subscription-based Monitor services in 14 areas, including banking, healthcare and alumni relations, along with custom research, digital capabilities audits, special studies, user research and other consulting services. The firm helps its clients – including 70% of the financial services firms in the Fortune 500 – to remain at the forefront of industry trends and improve their competitive position.  

To learn more, visit us at www.corporateinsight.com/about-us/what-we-do. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter (CInsight) and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Corporate Insight