Wells Fargo has a deep commitment to its customers and one of the many ways it delivers optimal customer engagement is through an innovative use of technology.
Wells Fargo’s stellar use of technology, coupled with its significant impact on customer engagement, culminated in the company being named a finalist for the 2015 Loyalty360 Awards in the Technology & Trends category.
Awards will be handed out at the 8th annual Loyalty Expo presented by Loyalty360 – The Loyalty Marketers’ Association, which will be held April 27-29, 2015, at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
Various members of Wells Fargo’s Rewards and ATM Product Management participated in a Q&A with Loyalty360 to discuss the company’s focus on technology and its customer-centric vision.
Can you talk about Wells Fargo’s approach toward Technology & Trends, how it’s dealt with internally, and how it’s received by customers?
At Wells Fargo, we are always looking for ways to add innovative features and benefits to our rewards program and cutting-edge technology plays a critical role in that process. Internally, we are extremely focused on delivering flexibility, simplicity, and ways for members to personalize or customize the program to best fit their diverse needs. This, of course, must be accomplished while maintaining the trust and security of our members.
Wells Fargo is the first major U.S. financial services provider to introduce the option to redeem rewards at more than 12,500 Wells Fargo ATMs. The new ATM feature allows customers to either redeem their rewards in the form of a cash withdrawal, or redeem rewards in the form of a deposit or credit towards a wide range of qualifying Wells Fargo accounts including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity loans, and personal loans.
What are your customer loyalty goals from a technology perspective how have the results matched or exceeded your expectations?
At Wells Fargo, we strive to give the customer greater rewards and benefits for having a Wells Fargo card in their wallets. Ultimately, our goal is for customers to feel rewarded. Customers value cash-in-hand and we gave them what they wanted. We were pleased to provide a service that makes redemption easy while receiving great value.
“Customers live their lives on-the-go and being able to conveniently and simply access their accounts and rewards when and how they want is important,” said Alicia Moore, head of Wells Fargo ATM Banking. “By providing customers the ability to redeem rewards for cash or account credit directly at the ATM, we’ve made it more convenient for them to feel truly rewarded for doing business with Wells Fargo.”
The new ATM redemption option has been wildly popular with our customers. Initial results exceeded our expectations and we continue to see significant increases in customer adoption as more become aware of the new functionality through the use of ATM messaging and media coverage.
How do you define Customer Loyalty at Wells Fargo and how does Customer Feedback impact that theme?
Wells Fargo is well known for its customer-centric vision and leverages a decentralized business model so every local branch is a headquarters for satisfying all our customers’ financial needs and helping them succeed financially. Customer service and feedback is at the heart of our rewards program and we offer numerous channels to engage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We leverage this feedback as a critical driver of operations.
Wells Fargo Rewards is continuously undergoing enhancements to offer new features that help customers achieve their financial goals, connect to others through the program, make their everyday spending more valuable, and give them greater control and choices. We rely on a combination of factors and sources for feedback, including our partners, customers and industry trends. We are invested in hearing what our customers have to say and collect information on their preferences, satisfaction, sentiment, and customer service / support interactions.
With an abundance of technology solutions available in the marketplace, how do you know which ones best fit your customers and their expectations?
The decision to offer an ATM-redemption channel stems from the company’s observations of changing consumer behaviors – namely, customers withdrawing more cash. This ATM-redemption service is intended to add convenience at the place consumers most frequently seek it. We believe the key to raising satisfaction each year is to make product improvements and these updates become tools to cultivate more consumer loyalty. Furthermore, providing additional transaction types supports our relationship banking model.
Wells Fargo develops its own ATM software and has a long history of ATM innovation. Since 2009, we have offered customers the ability to check their reward balance at the ATM. In 2010, the company was the first bank to offer its customers email receipts at its ATMs. In 2011, the bank announced the entire ATM network was Envelope-Free. In 2013, Wells Fargo became the first to offer customers the option to receive ATM receipts via text messaging.