Prologue: Buying a Home Made Easier

It was a busy Monday morning at the city centre branch of Horizon Bank. Sarah, a specialist mortgage adviser, logged into her workstation, where the bank's recently implemented CRM system – called Horizon Connect – provided her with a real-time dashboard of prioritised customer contact opportunities. The system, powered by AI-driven analytics, integrated data from digital and physical channels, past transactions, and customer behaviour to generate next best action prompts tailored to each customer's individual needs.

As she reviewed her opportunities, an alert highlighted Michael, a medium-value customer with an excellent behavioural credit score. Over the weekend, he had used the bank's mortgage loan calculator on the mobile app several times but had not submitted an application. His transaction history indicated regular monthly rent payments, and a previous mobile app enquiry concerning offers for first time buyers suggested he was considering buying his first home.

Recognising this as an opportunity to provide meaningful help, Sarah checked his contact preferences and called him. When he answered, she introduced and identified herself and after the usual small talk moved the conversation to his recent digital interactions.

"I noticed you've been exploring home loan options on our app," Sarah began, smiling through her voice. "Are you thinking about buying a home soon?"

Michael acknowledged that he was interested but felt uncertain about affordability and the next steps. Sarah replied that she could help him answer the affordability question immediately. Using the Horizon Connect, Sarah accessed a detailed customer profile that combined his real-time digital interactions, transaction history, income deposits, spending habits, and past enquiries. The system's AI-driven next best action recommendation suggested a pre-approved mortgage offer based on his recent mortgage loan calculator inputs and financial standing.

"With your excellent credit score and financial profile," she continued, "we can offer you a pre-approved mortgage with a competitive interest rate that aligns with the budget you explored in our loan calculator. To ensure you have all the details, I'd be happy to schedule a video consultation with me, where we can go through everything and answer any questions you may have."

Michael appreciated the proactive outreach and how his random online research translated into a personalised, relevant, and timely interaction from Sarah. Within minutes, Sarah scheduled the follow-up consultation, giving him the confidence to take the next step toward homeownership.

Thanks to Horizon Bank's omnichannel strategy, faultless CRM integration, and next best action technology, Sarah was able to turn routine digital interactions into a valuable, personalised experience, one that not only met Michael's financial needs but strengthened his trust and loyalty with the bank.

Postscript: A few days later, Michael received an email with a survey asking whether, following his recent home buying experience, he'd recommend Horizon Bank to his friends and family. He replied with the maximum score of 10, adding that he felt the bank was genuinely thinking about how to help him, not just trying to sell him a mortgage.

Reality Check!

This example represents an aspirational rather than a universal reality for retail banks in 2025. While many banks are investing in AI-driven CRM, omnichannel engagement, and next best action (NBA) strategies – including relevant, personalised and timely event-driven surveys, the level of sophistication described here is not yet typical across most retail banks. However, it aligns with where leading banks are heading, and others should follow.

By 2030, this scenario of hyper-personalisation powered by AI, CRM insights, and omnichannel orchestration won't be optional: it will be essential.