Yet within this uncertainty could be a valuable opportunity for financial services brands to engage with their customers on a more personal and human level -- potentially enriching their relationship, and shielding it from further harm during these stormy times.
Financial services brands must tread carefully. Taking the time to show genuine concern and to offer real support to customers facing financial instability can deliver a hugely positive result if handled correctly. But a heavy handed or ill-informed approach could easily turn customers off, and do lasting damage to the brand's reputation.
A colleague's recent experience is an excellent example of how not to proceed.
As a customer of a premium banking service with a large credit card limit, a flurry of Christmas spending put her £100 over limit, immediately invoking a standard collections process.
After paying a substantial sum via debit card the operator then asked if she was experiencing financial difficulty.
The blunt response was "I've just transferred several grand from my current account, what do you think?" Not the brand experience the customer expects and I imagine the brand and product managers would agree.
This may be a dramatic example -- the call was being serviced by an overseas call centre which exacerbated the issue through miscommunication as the agent struggled with language, and was made worse by the obvious use of a script which directed the agent to show concern without being prompted by a particular trigger.
But aside from the obvious question of why a premium card holding customer was being handled by a call centre more suited to low-end transactional calls, the point I'm making is that the customer was showing very obvious signs of being in a solid financial position, so an offer of support of this type was irrelevant, unwelcome and off-putting.
Clearly a more insightful and natural conversation would have yielded a better result for all.
In fact, she may well have been in trouble or at least responsive to the formulation of a payment plan, some debt advice, a payment holiday or any number of options, but this can only come after the agent has figured out what is really going on, rather than having found a short-term solution to the problem then asking if everything was okay.
More likely, if the conversation had been about how to avoid a repeat of the situation by increasing the credit limit or offering text balance updates --anything the brand has to help the customer keep themselves in control of their finances -- then the enquiry into her finances and subsequent offer of support would likely have been welcomed.
A skilled agent will be able to apply an empathetic approach to this conversation, be able to think on their feet about the warning signs present that the customer may be worried about their financial position, and will be positioned and empowered to offer the most relevant support and advice.
Similarly being able to instantly access information on the customer is also an important element in helping to build up an accurate view of difficulties they might be facing.
Obvious triggers like the fact the customer is operating within or close to their overdraft limit, or that the most recent payments to a credit card have been at or close to minimum provide more solid evidence that something may be wrong.
What is vital here is that organisation is able to effectively direct calls to an appropriate service solution, and have suitably skilled agents available to handle the interaction.
This can deliver a more efficient approach than by ring fencing a specified resource, if enough data on the customer is available, and the agents have the scope to enter into free ranging dialogue.
The agent's objective is to then balance a view that this customer may be about to be in trouble, but has not necessarily done anything wrong, nor intends to.
Their approach is key both to lending the appropriate support and ensuring a continued profitable relationship, without putting the customer under any added pressure through the suggestion that sharing knowledge about their financial position may somehow be of detriment to the way they're subsequently dealt with.
A financial services brand using this approach also benefits from being able to improve the efficiency of subsequent communication, depending on the outcome of this initial interaction.
Other cheaper channels may be adequate to maintain the relationship and continue the offer and provision of support going forward -- while for others regular phone contact will be more beneficial.
A consumer's financial situation, and indeed their wider reaction to the unfolding events of 2009 can be a prime opportunity for positive and nurturing brand communication.
What is needed is a combination of excellent data analysis and management and effective, human, communicators.
With the prospect of ever greater numbers of consumers facing financial difficulty, the process of discovering more about the pressures an individual is facing can reap huge benefits in the short and long term, impacting on the customer's propensity to manage their finances better while simultaneously encouraging future loyalty.
Chris Hancock, managing director, Gasbox.