Banks are drowning in data
If there is one thing banks are drowning in these days, it’s data. Most banks own huge data assets, sourced from and stored at a wide range of locations. But more often than not, the pools in which this data is stored lacks structure and organization. Sometimes the lack of structure is so visible that pools are referred to as ‘data oceans’ by several organizations.
Although there are significant advantages attached to storing data in one place, it also presents problems. With such a big variety of data stored in one place, extracting actual value and insights from the data can prove challenging.
Every marketer citizen developer
One way banks can ease the process of extracting value from this data is by decreasing their dependency on – often costly – data scientists, by encouraging marketers to become so-called citizen developers.
Although there are significant advantages attached to storing data in one place, it also presents challenges such as extracting actual value and insights from it.
If you’re not familiar with the term: a citizen developer is a non-programmer who builds business applications using development tools that do not require, or only at very low levels, coding expertise.
They work in dashboards in which they use low-code – or sometimes even no-code – drag-and-drop application components to generate new types of web and mobile applications.
In our last white paper we zoomed in on why citizen developers have become increasingly important as the war for talent is raging in the field of data science and which benefits these citizen developers can bring.
The use of citizen developers brings a number of organizational benefits:
But, as a bank, how do you get the most out of the citizen developer trend? And what do you need to transform your marketing into a high-performance marketing machine?
You can benefit from it by keeping the following three things in mind:
1. Teamwork
Marketing and IT should reinforce each other. Bringing data science and agile development closer to the customer by turning marketers into citizen developers does not mean cutting IT out of the picture. That’s called shadow IT and has posed problems, not least in the vital area for banks of cybersecurity. By making sure that marketing and IT work together in a way they support each other and keep a level of oversight, the spread of rogue systems can be prevented. Moreover, it enhances creativity and agility.
2. Intuitive UI
Providing citizen developers with an easy to use, intuitive platform is essential. Only by supplying citizen developers with a platform that makes it easy to leverage data and develop solutions, they can provide real value. These platforms should consist of smart, artificial intelligence-powered, dashboard technology that is able to simulate the expertise of the professional data scientist. At the same time, it is accessible to non-specialists and laymen and designed to boost productivity.
3. Shift in mindset
No real change happens merely with tools. It’s mostly a mindset game. While the right technology is vital, the change in the user mindset required to get the best from it is also essential. Not only will this boost the (citizen) development of the marketer, it will also bring wider benefits to marketers and banks alike. With greater autonomy and control over personal workflows comes greater responsibility and greater buy-in to the success of marketing initiatives. Ultimately that leads to greater commitment to the success of the bank itself.
Let’s recap
Only by putting these frameworks in place, can banks get the most out of the citizen developer trend. Approaching the citizen developer possibilities like this will make it possible for marketers to effectively analyze data and translate those understandings into more targeted campaigns and feedback loops. Only then will marketers become truly empowered.
Discover more about NGDATA’s solution for banks to benefit from citizen development
