Banks and the long tail
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojk007/3814052537
The term long tail has gained popularity in recent times as a retailing concept describing the niche strategy of selling a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities – usually in addition to selling fewer popular items in large quantities. The Long Tail was popularized by Chris Anderson in an October 2004 Wired magazine article, in which he mentioned Amazon.com and Netflix as examples of businesses applying this strategy.
Does the “long tail ” principle apply to banks as well? We found a very inspiring article by Brett King on the Huffington Post,
What The Beatles’ Success on iTunes Means for Banks, where the author discuss the implications of digital vs. physical distribution for banks:
What is under attack here is not DVDs, it’s not The Beatles, RIAA, Books or CDs and vinyl — what is under attack is physical distribution of goods that can easily be digitized. In that sense, the bank sector is in massive trouble because almost everything a bank does can be digitized. [...]
While improvements in customer service should be applauded, the fact is, based on distribution metrics, take up of mobile banking, internet banking, mobile payments, and other such indicators, the investment should be going into improving customer journeys, experience and service in the digital space. [...]
It’s not branches that is under threat today — it is physical distribution. Banks can take the music industry approach and stick their head in the sand until things are absolutely inevitable, or they can adapt.
We could not agree more! What do you think?
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[...] Banks and the long tail, from banca20 blog Does the “long tail ” principle apply to banks as well? We found a very inspiring article by Brett King on the Huffington Post, What The Beatles’ Success on iTunes Means for Banks, where the author discuss the implications of digital vs. physical distribution for banks. [...]