If Steve Jobs would have been a banker

Steve Jobs revolutionized the computing universe. His greatest merit was to relate complex technology with positive emotions, as demonstrated by devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, which we buy based on emotions—and not primarily because of technology.

What would be different if Steve Jobs had started in the banking sector?

1. He would have realized that financial products are unemotional, complex, and difficult to comprehend. Most offers are even unattractive and yield few results for the clients. The customer service of most retail banks is between poor and improvable. Virtually nobody connects an appointment at a bank with joy.
2. He would have created products that are easy to understand, fun, and that exist only with a few variants. Their performance may be inferior to competitive products, but they would be understood.
3. He would have created consistent customer-focused processes. New "Apple-Bank" customers and long-term customers will have the same experience: Simple, chic, functional, and intuitive. There will be no small print paragraphs, no ten signatures required, and no confusing product spectrums. Moreover, the bank would have a service hotline that answers questions day and night.
4. He would have created bank shops in which you walk in just for fun and to look around. Highly motivated staff members would welcome the customer or prospect already at the entrance and ask what they can do for them. If you have an appointment ("Genius Bar"), the staff would accompany the customers to the right contact person.
5. He would have removed the dust from everything and employed straightforward, friendly staff, who 100% believe in their company’s simple, fun-generating, high-quality products and positive emotions. In short, a dramatic change would have been implemented.

Just imagine the launch of a new financial product: Hundreds of fans(!) camp the whole night before at the entrance of the "Apple Bank Shop" to be the first to invest their money in the new product. When leaving the bank, they triumphantly wave their new investment certificate.

Does that sound unbelievable? Unrealistic? Ask yourself, how realistic was this scenario with computers from IBM and Dell?

Where is the Steve Jobs of banking?

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© Copyright by New Pace Consulting SA, 2011. All rights reserved.