Falling prey to FoMO
FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) is “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent”. This social angst is characterized by “a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing” — Wikipedia
I was in Dubai last week for The Banker’s Customer Experience Summit, a conference which brought together the leading customer experience leaders in the Middle Eastern region. Interestingly, throughout the 2 days of the conference, every single speaker mentioned about customer/user journeys and the importance of empathizing with the customer. Being from an organization which advocates and executes this philosophy day in and day out, it was really heartening to hear this.
There was also a common consensus on the need for investing in digital and how digital experience is imperative for all banks in the region. However, conversations with a couple of mid-size banks and their customers made me realize that this need might not be imperative and that there is a strong FoMO phenomenon prevailing.
FoMO can be really detrimental to any business. It basically means that you invest in or make certain decisions because you feel that if you don’t…you’re going to be left behind in the race. These decisions are generally not based on valid market needs but more out of fear and doubt.
Why do I say there’s a prevalance of FoMO for these two banks? Take a look below and decide for yourselves
- “We don’t really need a mobile banking app, but we are investing in it because we feel that every bank needs to have a mobile app” — This was the response from a senior customer experience manager of one bank when I asked him why are you planning to launch a mobile app
- A conversation with one of the existing service providers in the region threw up the fact that large banks typically have only a couple of thousand internet banking users currently. The smaller banks have very less. Most of the banking transactions are still carried out in branches
- They spoke about the need for leveraging social media for innovative payment methods, customer grievance redressal etc. However a quick scan of their twitter accounts showed that except for one or two large banks, none of the others have any considerable number of followers. So does it really make sense to spend so much time and energy on this channel?
These figures reflect that investing heavily in digital and mobile experience might not be the right strategy for these banks at the moment. Is investing in improving the internet banking experience really necessary when there are only a couple of thousand internet banking users for even large banks? That money could be used for more pressing needs instead!
It is extremely important to step out of one’s business hat and step into the shoes of the customer to understand his problems. Which is why all the talk about understanding customer journeys got me really excited…however there was a definite conflict when I spoke to the banks as mentioned above.
Does my customer really need a mobile banking app? Or will he be happier if I train my staff better at branches so that his transactions are smooth and flawless?
Do I really need to invest resources on social media? Or will it be better if I invest in improving the experience of the customer at the branch which is still the most preferred banking channel for my customers?
FoMO is real...and not just banks in this region but organizations across the globe fall prey to this phenomenon. There are numerous organizations investing in technologies and services just for the sake of staying in the game. Most of the times, the results are unsatisfactory.
Always remember…customers don’t want 50 mediocre products/services, they prefer 10 effective and useful services instead!
Have any instances where you’ve encountered FoMO? Would love to know!
