Getting the Idea Across — Financial Services and Metacognition
In August, I spoke in Minneapolis at a conference held by the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota. My topic was the “Top 3 Technologies That Bankers Must Understand.” At its core, the presentation challenged bankers to use metacognition (thinking about how we think) to imagine what financial services might appeal to tomorrow’s customers. I highlighted three technologies: (1) data analytics, (2) artificial intelligence, and (3) virtual reality (VR). My presentation provided both a framework for how creativity and innovation must be incorporated into their financial institutions (FIs) and specific information on the three emerging technologies and their applications for financial services. As part of my discussion of virtual reality, I suggested they could put a VR station in their lobby to show off innovation and encourage engagement in the branch.
Towards the end of the presentation, I outlined the challenges to innovation they would face within their FIs. These issues included little-to-no senior management support, failure to understand their decisions were mostly made on Autopilot, lack of approval for people to spend time at work thinking, and excuses such as “we’re too small,” and “there are compliance issues.” As the presentation ended, there was time for a Q&A, and I fielded several questions. The last one was this: “Mr. Peterson, you presented to us the challenges to making innovation happen, but you left one off. Cost.” What this banker was saying was, “Hey, we are a small bank. How can we afford the technologies you are suggesting?”
I was initially mad at the question. It was an example of the traditional thinking that bankers systemically exhibit. But I quickly realized this was the reality for that banker. I shouldn’t get mad, but instead provide examples of where their thinking was too narrow. So I said, “That’s a good question. As a small FI, you have to be conscious of the cost of technology, especially where you have no clear expectation of it becoming an entitlement technology for your customers and prospects. But consider this: many of you are investing right now in video teller technology, spending $50,000 to $80,000 per device on these automated machines in your lobby, and yet not one of these devices will cause someone who wouldn’t have come into the branch anyway to make a trip to visit your branch. Yet you could invest in a VR station for probably $10,000 and have an amazing engagement tool that will draw in customers and prospects.”
I went on to provide a scenario where a customer who could access the bank using an app on their smartphone would instead say, “Hey, First National has those new video tellers; let’s drive over there and use those.” It seems so clear to me, but I have to remember that these bankers have had decades to form their idea of what it means to be a banker, and it will likely take more than one presentation from me to get them to think differently. That question did get me thinking, though, “I threw out $10,000 as the cost to set up a VR station, but I really don’t know the exact cost. I need to make sure I understand all of the actual investment for a VR system.” So I worked it out.
It comes to just under $6,000, which includes a VR suite (headset, controllers, motion detections and the cables to hook up to a gaming PC), a supercharged gaming PC, software for 10 VR games and the physical cube in which to play. Throw in a wide screen PCD panel so that those in lobby can see what the player is experiencing, and the total is $5,750. Think about that: For about 10% of what an FI pays for just one video teller, they could have a kick-butt VR station in the lobby. Customers and prospects of all ages would come to experience this, especially in an area where it is unlikely there are other places to experience high-end virtual reality.
Trust me, $6,000 is not a big investment, even for a small financial institution. The issue is getting the bankers to think differently. To think differently about what should occur in their lobby, about what constitutes engagement, and about whether the future of their institution will develop from how few employees they can house in their spacious, unused branches or instead from innovative ideas that will become magnets for branch visits.
Maybe you’re not a banker — so how does this relate to you? What opportunities do you have in your business to come up with an innovative idea that will challenge the status quo? What will get your customers and community talking about you? Think about how you think regarding your business and how you will thrill customers in the coming years. Check out innovative ideas; they might be more affordable than you think.
Originally published at David L. Peterson.
