Technology renews engagement opportunities for banks as housing market welcomes “new dawn”

An article in the Financial Times on 2nd September points optimistically to a “new dawn” for the US housing market.

“But there is a clear conclusion for anyone now in rented accommodation in the US. If they want to buy their own place, there is unlikely ever to be a much better time to do so than now.”

If the indicators are correct then this is welcome news indeed. After a long and depressing hiatus, the regeneration of this important market will be a key boost to business confidence generally, not just the real estate industry.

The mortgage market is still a key strategic business driver for the banking sector, so this a perfect opportunity for banks, and other financial services organisations with a stake in the housing market, to re-engage with consumers with a fresh and innovative approach to customer experience, and building new relationships.

Over the time that the housing market has been depressed, new technologies – mobile and social in particular – have reached ubiquitous scale, providing banks with new and exciting ways of engaging with consumers. Banks have built social interfaces with their customers, and many use enterprise social platforms internally for collaboration, improving services.

Over the same time there have been exciting developments in mobile technology. The iPhone and Android have seen marked penetration, with smartphones expected to outnumber ordinary phones within the next 2 years. Tablets, led principally by the iPad, have opened new opportunities for engagement.

And in the last 18 months the “multi-screen” experience has become a reality (refer recent Google research report). This means new opportunities for even richer contextually-driven engagement, but requires the right enterprise technology to do it.

For banks that recognise in Customer Experience the potential to build competitive advantage, the regeneration of the housing market represents a distinct opportunity for growth