Fit for Growth in Financial Services – Focus on your priorities to fuel growth

In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity. – Albert Einstein

2020 will be a year of note in our future history books. We are still living in unprecedented times and it is becoming clear that no version of a post-COVID-19 world will look the same as our pre-pandemic one.

Consider the drastic shifts in consumer behaviour over the past few months as people rapidly dialed back to the basics. We are re-prioritising what we once valued and crafting new daily operating models – minus many of the accoutrements of 2019.

Most experts agree that economic uncertainty, like uncertainty about the arc of COVID-19, will linger. As a result, cash-strapped customers and companies need to be ruthless when deciding what to keep and what to ditch. For financial services organisations, like many others, the life of the company could depend on choosing the right things to sacrifice. What’s the business equivalent of food, water and shelter? And how do you become a "must-have" instead of a "nice to have"?

Leaders in all industries need to decide what’s essential about their operations, processes, products or services.

What to sacrifice, what to keep? Customer experience and digital transformation fall squarely in the "keep" column. In fact only 9% of leaders said customer experience is on the deferred or cancelled investments chopping block, according to PwC’s latest CFO survey. And I would argue with even the few who said customer experience gets the axe. To become essential, you cannot let customer experience falter. Go back to the basics and ask yourself: What will make my company a "must-have"in the eyes of my customers or clients?

Then look at digital transformation as the vessel to get you there. Technology tools and new ways of working are the building blocks that can enable you to accomplish swift change – while simultaneously delivering uninterrupted and stellar customer experiences.

At the end of the day, every business has to deliver a product or a service that has value to their customers. Is your strategy delivering value? These intense challenges today are forcing organisations to make tough strategic decisions. PwC research shows that business leaders from around the world share common concerns, including:

  • Eroding competitive advantage,
  • Uncompetitive cost structures,
  • Stalled organic growth ,
  • Regulatory pressure and
  • Strategic incoherence.

This difficult environment makes managing cost and maintaining profitable growth more important than ever. Board priorities today revolve around streamlining complexity, reducing costs and reinvesting for growth. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding sustainable, scalable businesses focused on the right areas of growth. Pressures include designing an operating model that instills a more accountable culture, leveraging synergies and capability. FinTech models hold an advantage over traditional organisation models in the new normal.

In the short term, there has been an immediate need for digital-led modes of working, as well as contactless sales and service delivery, both of which are key tenets of FinTechs. A number of EnablingTech players have seen a rise in the demand for their offerings that use technology to assist with front, mid and back office work. FinTechs that have followed predominantly digital customer acquisition and service delivery models are at a relatively advantageous position as compared to their traditional counterparts.

At the end of the day, every business has to deliver a product or a service that has value to their customers. Is your strategy delivering value?

This difficult environment makes managing cost and maintaining profitable growth more important than ever. Board priorities today revolve around streamlining complexity, reducing costs and reinvesting for growth. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding sustainable, scalable businesses focused on the right areas of growth. Pressures include designing an operating model that instills a more accountable culture, leveraging synergies and capability. FinTech models hold an advantage over traditional organisation models in the new normal.

In the short term, there has been an immediate need for digital-led modes of working, as well as contactless sales and service delivery, both of which are key tenets of FinTechs. A number of EnablingTech players have seen a rise in the demand for their offerings that use technology to assist with front, mid and back office work. FinTechs that have followed predominantly digital customer acquisition and service delivery models are at a relatively advantageous position as compared to their traditional counterparts. Ultimately organisations are being challenged to improve profitability and EBITDA through deeper customer engagement, innovation and increased management focus and accountability.

Is your organisation prepared to tackle these challenges? PwC’s Fit for Growth (FFG) is our proven model that aligns strategy, cost and organisation mandates to power your transformation and help you prepare for the known and the unknown. FFG has helped our clients to:

  • Align capabilities that really matter and help them win in the market;
  • Enable investment in sustainable and differentiated capabilities by improvement in cost structures and “unlocking resources”;
  • Develop a clear cross organisation cost agenda, making deliberate choices from front line to back office;
  • Implement an organisation model, processes and systems that unlock their potential and enable the agility needed for growth and
  • Ultimately create an environment and culture that embeds change in their organisation and paves the way for a sustainable future.

FFG therefore connects decisions about cost, investment in capabilities in the context of your company strategy with an underlying component of business strategy and customer experience. The focus is on on differentiating capabilities that sets your business apart from the competition and ensures sustainable success.

Would you like to know how FFG can be leveraged in your organisation to grow, create value, and sustainably outperform competitors? Engage us and we will be glad to assist.

Related articles

COVID-19: A catalyst for change in the banking industry

One of the most visible manifestations of the COVID-19 in the corporate sphere has been the need for organisations to rapidly transition all or most of their workforce to a remote working model. Long story short, the pandemic could prove a significant catalyst for the acceleration of the trends we have already seen towards the digitisation of banking operations. PwC's Adam Sengooba discusses

Taking stock: Four areas for financial institutions to consider in 2021 and beyond

It remains to be seen what the ‘new normal’ will look like for the financial services industry. Nonetheless, the beginning of a new year is an opportunity to take stock and refocus. PwC's Moses Nyabanda discusses

Balancing access to digital lending with appropriate regulation in Kenya

Increasing access to credit is an essential aspect of Kenya’s efforts to accelerate economic growth. In light of the emerging nature of the non-deposit taking digital lending industry in Kenya, a complicated licensing framework specific to the digital lending industry may stifle its growth. PwC's Joseph Githaiga and Christopher Ndegwa discuss

Diya Guttoo

Associate Director - Advisory at PwC Mauritius

T: +230 404 5014 / +230 5797 6990 E: diya.guttoo@pwc.com

Share with your networks

Read the next article: Dealing in uncertain times