Why Do CRM’s Never Work at Banks?

The Pain of Missed Opportunities in the Financial Sector and Why CRMs Often Fail to Deliver

The financial industry, with rapid pace and high-stakes deals, is no stranger to the crippling pain of missed opportunities. Every missed connection, every delayed decision, and every inefficiency can translate into lost revenue and compromised client relationships. In an era defined by technology and instantaneous decision-making, one would expect the ubiquitous Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to be the saviour. Yet a significant issue in Investment Banking and Finance at large is under-utilized CRMs , despite the millions spent on them each year.

The limitations of these platforms point to a significant gap in the market: a need for a solution that can effortlessly connect individuals within a company based on expertise and relationships, a solution that understands the importance of making operations run seamlessly, and that caters specifically to public and private information barriers, conflicts, and privacy needs in Finance . The consequences of this are more profound than one might initially perceive.

The Limitations of Traditional CRMs in Finance

CRMs, like Salesforce & Microsoft Dynamics, regardless of how advanced they may seem, often operate on a model that is increasingly inefficient with the demands of the modern financial sector. Here’s why:

1. Form Filling Software is Dead: bankers, salespeople, fund raisers do not have time to do voice to text, let alone type. Traditional CRMs, with their form-based approach, often lead to slow response times. This sluggishness can translate to delayed actions, making firms miss timely opportunities.
2. Sharp Elbows Dilemma: The “sharp elbows” phenomenon in banking arises from the competitive incentive structures that prioritize individual success, leading professionals to withhold client insights for fear of undermining their own standing or losing clients to internal competitors.
3. Looks like a Spreadsheet, Feels like Work: With CRMs that look like compressed spreadsheets, professionals that do partake, waste countless hours navigating and updating, rather than acting on insights. Each minute lost in these systems could equate to a missed client touchpoint or a delayed decision. These challenges have direct financial implications. With every missed connection or delay, firms risk compromising client relationships and potential revenue.
4. Permissioned access to client info: Even if a bank navigates beyond the challenges of form-filling software and the ‘sharp elbows’ dilemma, it still faces the issue of restricted access for account coverage, wherein only certain managers can see leaving other colleagues unable to leverage this critical information for strategic benefit.
5. Lack of Industry Specific Customization: Most CRMS are designed for a broad spectrum of industries. Their features, while vast might not cater specifically to the nuance needs a financial professionals. The result? A system that feels clunky, with essential features buried under layers of a relevant functionality.
6. Compliance and Security Gaps: The financial sector is heavily regulated. While a generic CRM may offer a host of features, it might not necessarily align with industry-specific compliance, security, and privacy needs. This misalignment can open firms up to considerable risks.
7. Lots of data but no intel: Financial professionals don’t just need data. They need actionable insights derived from that data. Many CRMs provide heaps of data without the tools or algorithms to translate that into meaningful intelligence.

Louisa AI, a solution the modern financial industry needs. Louisa addresses the core pain points facing today’s financial professionals with one masterstroke: make it all about “connecting people” not connecting people with even more data.

1. Map expertise and route relationships: In an age where finding the right person at the right time can mean the difference between sealing a deal or losing out, Louisa plugs into a companies CRM, Email, Corporate Directory to auto-assemble everyone’s profiles with expertise, networks with relationships they actually know. No more asking around, wading through inefficient corporate directories or facing the frustrations of inadequate search experiences on platforms like LinkedIn.
2. Just-in-Time Intelligence: The power of Louisa AI lies not just in presenting data but in offering actionable intelligence exactly when it’s needed. This ensures that opportunities are seized by people connecting the moment they arise, rather than being lost in the deluge of information.
3. Colleague and Client Relationship Management in a Hybrid Work: The post-pandemic world is marked by hybrid work models. With professionals working both from offices and homes, the need for an efficient system that bridges the gap is paramount. Louisa AI rises to this challenge, ensuring seamless connectivity and efficiency, irrespective of physical location.
4. Tailored for the Financial Sector: Unlike generic CRMs, Louisa AI is molded around the specific needs of the financial industry having been born at Goldman Sachs. Aware of the regulatory landscape, Louisa AI ensures that its systems adhere to the strictest compliance, security, and privacy standards. GDPR, Private Side – Public Side, Bank Grade Secure & Compliance are our edge.
5. Something bankers actually want to use: Time is a precious commodity in finance. Bankers, constrained by tight schedules and complex tasks, gravitate towards software platforms that streamline efficiency and provide actionable insights, favoring user-friendly interfaces that integrate seamlessly with existing systems and offer high levels of compliance and customization. In an industry where time is a critical asset, only those solutions that effectively condense multiple functions into a cohesive, intuitive experience will be adopted and used to their full potential.

The limited use of CRMs in finance point to a significant gap in the market: a need for a solution that can effortlessly connect individuals within a company based on expertise and relationships, a solution that understands the importance of making operations run seamlessly, and that caters specifically to regulated industries.

Louisa AI recognizes these pain points within the industry and offers a targeted, effective solution. A CRM extender, that takes your CRM data and mixes it with a whole lot more and makes it accessible to the whole firm. So every colleague can deliver the full might of their firm: their people.