Today, the customer experience can now determine brand loyalty. In fact, 61% of people are unlikely to return to a brand that does not provide, at minimum, a satisfactory customer experience. And that means consumers now expect tailored interactions with companies across every industry.

Financial service institutions haven’t eluded the market shift: 72% of consumers rate personalization as “highly important” in this industry. Pressure to personalize grows from both competitors looking to get ahead and internal stakeholders wanting to future-proof their organizations. So how have financial institutions (FIs) moved beyond future planning and towards implementing results-driven personalization programs?

To better understand the challenges and opportunities FIs face, Dynamic Yield conducted its personalization maturity survey. The survey included responses from 100 stakeholders in America (US), Europe (EU), South America (SA), and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. Respondents represented positions in the C-Suite, as well as both Senior and Middle Management covering Marketing, Business Development, and Growth functions.

You can read the complete report by clicking on the photo below:

Our take on the findings

Analysis of the survey results revealed three main trends for FIs when asked about the status of their personalization programs.

1. Personalization is a clear strategic north star for FIs

86% of FIs state that they’ve clearly and visibly prioritized personalization in their company strategy — and 92% plan to invest further in the practice. Organizations believe in the benefits and potential exponential revenue gains from personalization, a critical first step to establishing a program at the core of all customer experience work.

2. Despite a strong belief in personalization’s value, FIs struggle with resource allocation and meaningful implementation of processes

But belief doesn’t transform into results without the right resources and processes. 63% of FIs described personalization resources as limited or only made available on-demand after demonstrating a clear business case. 83% shared that executive mandates interrupt or take precedence over the existing personalization roadmap. Obstacles like these stall momentum and program cohesion, resulting in less relevant and impactful experiences.

3. Misalignment between C-level and middle managers threatens personalization’s impact for FIs

The C-Level perceives their program’s culture, resources, and processes differently than Middle Managers, with executives consistently reporting more mature levels of personalization. While strategy-focused executives and day-to-day practitioners will experience personalization differently, organizational misalignment can significantly threaten how a program develops. It also hints that brands in the industry may consider themselves to be more Advanced in personalization than their processes actually are.

Other takeaways include:

• 42% of Executives report that personalization is already part of the organization’s DNA, compared to 27% of Senior Managers and only 19% of Middle Managers.

• 25% of Middle Managers shared that the organization believes in personalization but hasn’t orchestrated a true program or quantified impact vs. 15% of Senior Managers and 12% of Executives – with more members of both groups rating their program’s personalization culture more highly.

• 54% of Executives (the most significant share) asserted they ideate their test in a data-driven manner, a number 24% higher than Senior Managers (30%) and almost double that of Middle Managers (28%).

• While 44% of Middle Managers said their teams could ingest and analyze pertinent data for personalization from multiple sources (including offline) for a fuller picture of their audiences, many more Executives (73%) and Senior Managers (61%) described their program as achieving this maturity level.

Organizational alignment is a critical next step in the personalization journey for FIs

The overwhelming belief in personalization’s value, as well as the prioritization of an individualized approach, indicates that FIs understand the emerging trends within the industry — from the consumer shift to primarily digital banking methods to the rising customer expectations for tailored interactions within those solutions.

But, for financial institutions to fully mature their programs and execute effective personalization across the customer lifecycle, all job levels and titles must align on the overall approach to the customer journey. From the team, structure, and support put in place to data practices, roadmap building, audience strategy, and testing guidelines.

Programs that reach the highest levels of maturity must be unified in their vision, strategy, and execution, as well as how they deploy ongoing improvements.

Be sure to check out the full report. And to learn more about how you can continue to advance your organization’s personalization maturity, don’t forget to discover where your own company stands by answering these 16 questions.