Banks should avoid using websites like
Facebook to ‘befriend’ customers – and instead exploit social media
to proactively monitor and respond to customers’ feedback, Oracle
urged.
The senior director for Oracle’s
financial service and global business unit in Asia-Pacific and
Japan, Lance Tay, argued that such a strategy would help banks to
manage their reputation and improve the level of customer service
they provide.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Speaking to RBI’s sister title
Banking & Payments Asia (BPA), Tay said one bank
in Singapore, which he declined to name, is an active user of
social media, but in his view that bank’s social media strategy is
“probably misplaced investment”.
‘Smart’ usage of social media requires two
factors for a bank, Tay said:
- In the first place, this involves
establishing a social media profile. - The second step is to monitor customers’
feedback about the bank and its competitors, in order to analyse
and collect this information.
“Do not be afraid of brickbats, but collect
information,” said Tay.
He added that banks should proactively use
social media and set up an online forum, if necessary, to shape the
agenda – rather than passively viewing an online discussion about a
bank’s reputation.
