Innovation is creating something novel—through creativity—in contrast to the status quo or the modus operandi of a system or a given cultural milieu for its growth and profitability. To stay afloat in an evolving and competitive system like the banking sector, it’s wise for any bank that wishes remain relevant or be at the top and remain there, to unleash its creative juices and make changes that would keep coming back for more. Strategy, however, is a plan of action, a direction an organisation must take to remain relevant in the competitive market for its profitability and that of its stakeholders.
Here are some innovative strategies that can keep banks afloat in the ever-competitive market
1. Digitalising some regularly accessed bank activity simply for the aim of self-service
It’s a wide saying that if you must make it in the business world, find a way to make things easy for people and you’ll make money. In the case of the banking sector, any bank that wishes to maintain and even get more pool of customers should be innovative in creating a digital way of making customers access more bank services in the comfort of their homes. When the ATM(Automated Teller Machine) was developed, it kept a lot of people from standing in long bank queues and still many more when internet banking was established. Digitalising more bank services will attract customers that will make use of the innovative idea in the long run.
2. Digital banking harnessing the use of Blockchain technology
The coming era of the banking sector will be the involvement of Blockchain technology in the banking sector this is because blockchain offers a better way of managing asset transfers than the current banking system. Blockchains are distributed ledgers, they are not owned by a single entity. They cannot be influenced, controlled, managed or tampered with and are accessible to all.
3. Introducing more AI(Artificial intelligence) to the banking sector The role of machines in modern banking cannot be overemphasized. All though machines can probably not do everything that is needed within the banking sector they can affect a great level of change. They can analyse very huge amount of data in seconds, detect errors in data computation and so much more. They would make innovative banks more efficient than regular banks.
The essence of innovation strategy in the banking sector
1. Goals and priorities elucidation
An innovation strategy lists out the goals of the organization’s innovation activities in this context, the banking organisation and helps the organisation to concentrate their efforts on actualising those goals.
2. Encourages coordination
When there is a plan in place, the different groups within the banking organisation will all be working in tandem toward common goals rather than pursuing their own goals.
3. Keeps an innovative banking organisation from resting on its laurels: Banks climbing the steps of innovation are challenged to continually innovate strategically should imitators rise to compete with them over time.
4. Helps banks achieve long-term success
Without ongoing innovation, a company is unlikely to gain (or maintain) a competitive advantage or keep customers engaged over the long term. Innovation is what keeps the bank paddling through the pool of success no matter how competitive the market might be.
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