A couple of articles have come out recently in the wake of Regions Bank’s announcement that they are offering online appointment scheduling. The latest is by Mary Wisniewski in Bank Technology News.
Appointment scheduling has come up on wish lists as I’ve spoken with bankers in the past, particularly in Wealth Management groups (financial advisors, for example). There’s certainly a convenience angle for prospects and customers to be able to schedule a meeting without having to make a call or send emails back-and-forth. I like the sales angle that Vince Ammendolia from BMO Bank hits in the article, too:
Indeed, he recalls BMO bankers fearing they could be losing sales leads to competitors. Getting an appointment booked while a person is researching products lets the bank better retain the prospect or cross-sell to him, he says. Plus it improved the then-existing BMO experience that required a banker to call a person back to set up an appointment
Ammendolia also goes on to note the bank is looking into enabling customers to enable video appointments as well in addition to in-branch appointments (another confirmation of interest in video delivery).