ABA Banking Journal 5/08 - (Page 53) SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ABA Banking Journal’s White Paper for May 2008: Retail Banking EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For the full article go to http://www.ababj.com Dialog Banking: Fad or Future? By Neil K. Kool Vice President of Sales DEI Incorporated Phone #: 513.825.5800 Email: nkool@dei-corp.com Web: www.dei-corp.com W hile banks continue to compete with each other for retail deposits and market share, there is a new delivery system to consider when analyzing your next de novo branch or renovation. The concept is called dialog banking and in the last three years it has gone from a bleeding edge idea to a leading edge opportunity to differentiate your bank and provide the outstanding customer service your institution promises to customers. past due to the automation and security of the recycler. Therefore, the initial increased cost certainly has its return on investment relatively quickly. Is it difficult for my staff to use? Certainly some training is involved to convert existing tellers to the dialog concept. Some will embrace its automation and the ability to interact more freely with customers. Others will need time to get used to a new way of doing business. However, once the tellers see how the customers respond favorably to this delivery mechanism, the transition becomes relatively easy. Where is the dialog banking concept being used? The dialog banking concept is being used by banks in small communities and those in metro markets to set themselves apart from the competition. You might think that it sounds somewhat “techie” and would better suit the Gen X and Gen Y demographic. It is appealing to those groups, but is equally attractive to the baby boomers because every generation desires greater customer service. While dialog banking has a huge upside, it is not for every market and every bank. What is certain is that it should be considered by bank management for the next new facility or remodel. The most common transaction is that which occurs at the teller line. You must analyze if you are maximizing that brief opportunity to provide top level customer service, generate new fee income, and cross-sell loans and investments. If done right, dialog banking can assist in all of those aspects. About the Author Neil K. Kool is the Vice President of Sales at DEI Incorporated. He has 14 years of banking experience. He can be contacted at 513.825.5800 or nkool@dei-corp.com. First, what is it? Dialog banking uses a teller pod, which is typically a round workstation that incorporates a cash recycler, where a crosstrained banking representative can handle everything from basic transactions to loans. This frees the bank representatives to greet the customers upon entering, engage in conversation, and assess their needs and creates an environment that is more customer friendly and inviting. How does it work? The biggest benefit to the dialog concept is that the actual banking transaction becomes secondary. The transaction becomes mostly automated due to the cash recycler, allowing the teller to interface with the client rather than spending time counting cash. The automation frees up the teller to discuss other products/services, build a relationship with the customer, and cross-sell. Does it cost more to have dialog pods? The good news is the cost of construction and materials for building pods versus a teller line is virtually the same. However, there is an investment to purchase a cash recycler. The financial upside to the recycler is the efficiency and automation - one teller can do the work of one and a half. Another benefit is that unbalanced cash drawers and internal theft become a thing of the Subscribe at www.ababj.com ABA BANKING JOURNAL/MAY 2008 53 http://www.ababj.com http://www.dei-corp.com http://www.ababj.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.