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GUEST COMMENT: The growing need for female bankers in the Muslim world
21 December 2009
Throughout the Muslim world, banks and financial institutions have experienced a significant rise in their number of female customers in recent years, largely attributable to their increasingly role in the workplace.
Responsible for controlling household and family finances for decades, women have also experienced new empowerment and freedom in how they spend their money. With new opportunities for education on the rise, and more entering the workforce, women have become crucial target customers to the financial industry. Banks can tap into this growing market by providing banking services to their growing number of female customers and by training their sales and customer service personnel to better sell and service this important customer segment.
Identifying women’s needs
As women continue to manage their financial responsibility and independence throughout the Muslim world, the need for new and specific banking products and services for this market has also emerged. Muslim women are seeking a private, personal and comfortable banking environment. Women today enjoy financial institutions that cater to their unique needs and offer enhanced, targeted, financially compelling, and more personalized services than they have ever experienced before, such as credit cards and loans.
Banks can cater to this market by offering women extra privacy in their financial affairs and a more relaxed atmosphere in which they can discuss their needs. Banks can create exclusive areas within their branches that enable women to carry out their banking transactions with greater comfort and privacy.
Banks can also attract new customers by offering women additional benefits, including exclusive health privileges at renowned hospitals and health clubs, and shopping discounts with special privileges at select stores for perfumes, clothing, accessories, books, and much more. Financial institutions truly dedicated to expanding services to women will open female-only branches.
Training
While women-only financial institutions have been in existence for decades, this is a new initiative for many institutions. The most effective way for banks throughout the Muslim world to reach this growing market is to implement a top quality training program, customized to the needs of women. A well-educated staff will prove to their clients that the bank is aware of the impact of women throughout the Muslim world and is ready for a change.
Additionally, a training program will teach bank employees how to successfully communicate with their female customers while providing outstanding sales and service. Learning professional customer services skills will help employees listen to their customers’ needs and answer any questions, helping their female customers to feel relaxed and confident in their banking experience. Most importantly, employees will learn how to sell women-specific banking products; following proper policy and procedure to protect themselves, their banks, and their female clients.
The shifting role of Muslim women in their homes and in the working world provides a new market for financial institutions. In order to tap into this growing segment of the financial industry, banks need to understand the unique banking needs of this vital customer segment and implement a sound training program to best sell and service them. Through training, banks can build a knowledgeable, professional and sensitive staff that is prepared to serve women throughout the Muslim world as this market continues to grow.
Dr. Linda Eagle is founder & president of The Edcomm Group Banker's Academy—a 22-year-old education and consulting firm dedicated to serving Banks, Credit Unions, Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and all areas of the global financial community with thousands of generic and customized training programs in areas such as BSA/AML, regulatory compliance, teller training, systems training, sales and service training, and many more.
The Edcomm Group Banker's Academy is headquartered in New York. For more information, email linda.eagle@edcomm.com or call +1.212.631.9400.
This article is so poorly written, its embarrassing. Give me a break. Who qualifies Linda to speak about the Muslim world on such broad terms ? Where are her statistics about Women in banking in the "Muslim" world? This seems like another Fox News watching American speaking about the Muslim world as if its a homogeneous country from the comforts of her NYC apt. Linda, contrary to fox news, Egypt is different from Pakistan, Malaysia is different from Saudi Arabia, Turkey is different from Afghanistan. Maybe if you left the U.S. you would realize this.
Omar 22 Dec 2009
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