In the last 20 years, certain industries have set customer expectations so high that other industries had no choice but to follow. Take the airline industry, for example, sites like Priceline pioneered the "aggregation" website model, where customers could search for flights across multiple carriers. Customers liked it, and soon other industries, like auto insurance, rolled out similar sites. 
The same logic applies to the value of mobile application notifications. A few years ago, notifications were somewhat rare. Now, customers expect it - especially in the financial sector. In our second of five posts exploring the power of a mobile app for your financial institutions, we are going to dive into the necessity of notifications.
Let's first look at the kinds of notifications banks can send. They include:
- Alerts about changes in interest rates
- New programs like loan refinancing
- Low balance
- Making payments
- Bill reminders
- Suspected fraudulent activity
- Transfer confirmation
- Bounced checks/overdrawn accounts
- Payments due
- Hours
You can intuitively see the value in such notifications. But "sensing" value is one thing; connecting it to positive business outcomes is another.
Here are three tangible business benefits of mobile banking app notifications:
- It expands the "neighborhood" community banking experience. The value of customer notifications is predicated on the idea of maintaining and fostering a small-town community vibe with your customers. Most of your customers likely live within close proximity to your bank and opt to do business with smaller community banks, rather than larger corporate institutions. They value this "neighborhood bank" experience. It's powerful stuff, and not something that should be taken for granted. Mobile banking app notifications extend this experience "outside" the four walls of the bank. Customers are reminded that you are looking out for them and doing everything possible to provide unparalleled customer service.
- It expands your brand. This idea of unparalleled customer service will inevitably strengthen your brand. It shows that just because you're a "small town" bank, you're still able to provide helpful technological tools on par with the big nationwide banks. In the process, it can set you apart from other community banks while simultaneously helping you attract new and younger tech-savy customers.
- It boosts user engagement. Carefully crafted notifications get users involved which can, in turn, enable banks to target more commercially-focused ads and promotions their way.
This isn't to say mobile banking app notifications aren't without their pitfalls. Make sure you consider the following:
- Customer security. Customers' biggest concern regarding mobile banking is (rightfully) around security. Your bank's security measures and compliance track record is, of course, central to your brand, so it's imperative the technical controls are airtight and that you consistently remind mobile customer that security is your number one priority.
- The importance of being personal. Make sure the notifications remain relevant and are targeted towards specific, tech-savvy demographics.
- The perception of being pushy. Recent research suggests that users want more, not less, notifications. Specifically, they want notifications regarding irregular activity on their account, low balance notifications, and reminders about upcoming bill payments. That said, it's important to strike a balance. Don't bombard users with too many notifications and don't send alerts when they're sleeping. Most importantly, make it easy to customers to opt out.
Looking beyond mobile banking apps as a way to strengthen your brand? Download our branding questionnaire for more tips and practical strategies.
