| |July 20209had one too many of them. The past three years have witnessed a major shift in borrower behavior. A new normal has set-in with re-spect to delinquency, which is sig-nificantly larger than pre-DeMo days. The loan officer is increas-ingly focused on collections, thus ensuring that his/her portfolio does not come under stress. Con-sequently, less time is available for cross-sell, and thus slowly, the process is getting relegated to the backseat.There is a need to reinvent to address this issue. Is a mobile app the solution? Yes for sure! Should it be for shopping/placing order, for financial inclusion or for transacting and checking eli-gibility for new/repeat loans? An omni app would be ideal for the microfinance customers.Where does one begin? Un-doubtedly, it has to be centered around the core microfinance transactions. If on logging in the customer gets to see her loan led-ger and details of the loans (cur-rent and past), this core would ensure there is stickiness. The customers would be encouraged to check the posting of her latest repayment, and that would be of great assurance. The next level would be to have the customer check her new loan eligibility or better still if the app were to show `pre-approved' limits, further en-hancing stickiness.Once the basics are in place, the app can now be made more engaging with the shopping sec-tion. MFIs can have a section for customers to browse through the products that are on offer. In sev-eral cases, the products need con-cept selling; for instance, a wa-ter purifier or a smokeless stove. Audio visuals on the USP of the product, benefit to health & envi-ronment and instructions for use would truly engage the customers and in turn catalyse a purchase decision. The customer could place the order on cash-down ba-sis or apply for a consumer du-rable loan. With financial inclu-sion and mBanking already in vogue, the former can be fulfilled through digital payments. For the latter, her finance request would take the normal credit appraisal route from the app. The logistics company can integrate their API to the app to enable the customer to track the shipment pretty much like what a mainstream e-Com-merce player would do.Making the app further en-gaging, a loyalty programme can ride on this platform. Loyalty points for attendance in centre meeting, for repeat loan, for re-ferring customers for loans and or product sales, for embracing digital repayments and so on; the list is truly endless.And that is not all. The app can be made even more engaging. She can share her success, say of an enterprise that she set-up, or expanded from the loan availed from the MFI. She could even share how she picked a new skill and encourage others to try the same. Maybe here, the likes can convert into loyalty points.Having reached thus far and managed a few lakh active users would herald the phase of mon-etizing the asset. The burn can finally end here. Access to an empowered customer base such as this would be any marketer's delight. They would be all too happy to invest in the ad space, redirect hooks and so on. Rapid and dipstick surveys for customer insights to feed marketing strat-egies too is a possibility. That is not all; this set is a great base for social marketing for health and hygiene, dissemination of infor-mation of public importance such as government programmes and so on.In all, there is a strong case for a mobile app which is completely focused on the rural microfinance clientele, and that in my view, will bring `more power to them' ­ an empowered foundation is the key to a strengthened socio-economic pyramid. AUDIO VISUALS ON THE USP OF THE PRODUCT, BENEFIT TO HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE WOULD TRULY ENGAGE THE CUSTOMERS AND IN TURN CATALYSE A PURCHASE DECISION
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