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James Robert Lay

Posts by James Robert Lay

Digital vs. Human: The First Step to Unlocking Growth in Financial Services

Financial brands often focus on digital transformation and new technologies to drive growth, but they miss a critical piece: human transformation. Without aligning their teams and culture to embrace change, even the best technology won’t unlock new opportunities. Sticking to old habit …

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The Digital Growth Accelerator: The Fastest Way to Thrive in 2025

There’s no sugar coating it: Your bank or credit union is losing money—right now—because of hidden blind spots in your customer journey. If you don’t take action, these problems will persist, costing you even more in 2025. The longer you wait, the more you risk falling behind your com …

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The Future of Financial Branding: Building Trust and Influence through Content

Financial brands miss out on millions in loans and deposits by not leveraging digital growth strategies and personal branding. There's a hesitation to utilize new communication channels like social media or podcasts due to compliance concerns and traditional mindsets. Ray Drew, top-pr …

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Humanizing Digital Experiences: A True Story of Why People Still Matter

In today's digital age, creating a human connection in online interactions is crucial for enhancing customer journeys, especially for financial institutions. However, many banks and credit unions overlook this necessity, leading to missed opportunities and diminished customer satisfac …

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The Power of Movement: Mastering Your Body to Master Your Mind

In this episode of the Practical Perspectives series, James Robert Lay and Audrey Cannata discuss a powerful yet often overlooked connection—the relationship between physical movement and overcoming mental roadblocks like fear, anxiety, and complacency. They explore the idea that taki …

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Mastering Onboarding and Engagement for Banks and Credit Unions

In this special episode of the Exponential Insights, James Robert Lay is joined by both Corey LeBlanc, co-founder and COO/CTO at Locality Bank, and Har Rai Khalsa, CEO and co-founder of Swaystack. Together, they dive deep into the critical topic of optimizing onboarding and engagement …

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Unlocking Digital Growth: Bridging the Gap Between Data and Action

In today's episode of the Exponential Insights series we discuss a significant issue faced by financial institutions: the loss of loans and deposits via their websites. Despite the clear advantages, many credit unions and banks struggle with the digital transformation needed to optimi …

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Reducing Friction: Optimizing the Loan Application Experience

This episode of the Practical Perspective series dives into the hidden gaps and friction points in financial brand customer journeys that lead to loss of potential loans and deposits. James Robert Lay, along with Audrey Cannata, share insights from a recent website secret shopping stu …

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Unlocking Website Potential: Asking the Right Questions

Many financial institutions struggle with understanding why their websites lose out on potential loans and deposits. Often, the questions they ask in feedback forms fail to distinguish between different user journeys, leading to misleading insights and uninformed decisions.

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Closing the Leadership Gap: Shaping the Future of the Financial Industry

Most financial institutions are stuck in the present, lacking the forward-thinking leadership needed to navigate and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. Leaders within these organizations frequently find themselves overwhelmed by day-to-day operations, which restricts their abil …

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