The Georgia Bankers Association and Valdosta State University’s Langdale College of Business Administration hosted the annual Community Bank Symposium on Sept. 17, in Valdosta State’s Student Union.

Featured speaker included Lee Wetherington, director of Strategic Insight with Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Wetherington, who has delivered more than 400 keynote speeches for state and national trade groups, engaged the group of banking professionals on the importance of innovating successfully in financial services.

He outlined the public perception that financial institutions were viewed as “laggards in innovation” because they dedicate their most skilled and talented staff to complying with regulations instead of forging innovative solutions to current and future banking challenges. 

Wetherington explained the difference in “Big I” and “Little i” innovation and how they contrast from large-scale and disruptive technology to incremental features and function improvement.

“It is the ability to fail fast and cheap in the exploration of a reasonable idea and opportunity,” said Wetherington. “Only 25 percent of new product development efforts ever launch commercially, and of those launched approximately 45 percent fail to meet profit goals.”

Mobile banking is exploding and more banking consumers are expecting consistency on all devices. Wetherington described that the tipping point in banking was in 2014 when 49 percent of applicants opened checking accounts online using a smartphone or tablet.

He noted that it is imperative for financial institutions to become innovative in developing products and services to market to the next generation of banking clients. The Generation Y, also referred to as Millennials, have distinctive impulse buying habits and companies like Amazon and Google have capitalized on these buying trends through online marketing.

Wetherington stated that smartphones were continuing to change the way consumers shop, with 47 percent of smartphone owners surveyed said they have comparison shopped with their smartphone while in a retail store. Of that group, 69 percent changed where they purchased a product based on the results.

Wetherington explained that the Generation Y (born between early 1980s and early 2000s) consumers also have distinct trends within how they bank, which includes more online access.

He also stated that today more consumers start their financial management on a smartphone, followed by personal computers, with few starting on a tablet, and these consumers expect consistency across all devices.

Wetherington was named Strategic Alliance Executive of the Year at the 2013 Golden Bridge Awards, which recognizes the world’s top executives across all major industries globally.

The symposium also featured Georgia Bankers Association President Joe Brannen; VSU Professor of Economics Cynthia R. Tori; James H. Moore, attorney with Moore, Clarke, Duvall & Rodgers; and Edward A. Krei, managing director of The Baker Group, LP, from Oklahoma City, Okla.

For more information on the Georgia Bankers Association, visit the website at http://www.gabankers.com/.