Lenders are leveraging and integrating data faster and in higher volumes than ever before in an effort to ease friction in the lending processes, but it is proving to be no easy task to ensure all stakeholders are happy.
Consumers, dealers and even “internal” customers have different priorities when it comes to data integration, and technology teams must ensure they’re actively listening to those needs when deciding where to focus their energies, Holly Thomson, auto product strategy leader at Wells Fargo, said last week at the Auto Finance Innovation Summit.
To reduce friction during the data integration process, the $1.94 trillion Wells Fargo leans into continuous feedback loops from its customers, dealer partners and colleagues, Thomson said.
“You start with listening to what [customers] are saying, and then you can prioritize against that,” she said. For example, some feedback might reinforce initiatives that are already in the pipeline, while others might spark new challenges that need to be addressed.
The lender focuses on this feedback to guide its user experience strategy in order to proactively address issues and create synergy between Wells Fargo Auto’s consumers, partners and lending team, Thomson said. “If you don’t think about all three [involved parties], you are just going to move the pain point down to the next [party]” instead of solving problems, which is “what we are here to do,” she said.
Wells Fargo is able to stay ahead of potential data integration challenges before they snowball into bigger issues affecting more consumers and hindering the lending process by listening to feedback and applying solutions, Thomson said, adding “what rattles today, makes a lot of noise tomorrow.”
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