4 Key Trends That Are Reimagining CX In Financial Services
October 11, 2021
Customer experience (CX) is the central competitive advantage in the finance sector in 2021.
Organisations that invest in customer experience have higher rates of recommendation, reduced churn and are more likely to provide additional products and services to existing customers – all leading to increased profits.
This has galvanised banks, credit unions, insurers and other financial institutions to reimagine the financial services customer experience through customer-centricity and personalization.
Looking to make some changes to your organisation? Here are the key trends to help you reimagine your biggest opportunity for competitive advantage.
Think customer experience, not customer service
No, they are not the same thing and here’s why:
Customer service is only one aspect of the entire customer experience. It is simply the assistance and advice provided to a customer for your financial product or service as needed. Typically, it’s the human element in your customer’s journey and the voice that represents your organisation.
Whilst customer service is important, you need to consider the full customer experience: every single interaction between you and your customer. This might include visiting your company’s website, experiencing your company credentials on YouTube or reading your reviews on Google.
Think customer journeys, not customer transactions
Many CX programs consider only transactional measures such as customer satisfaction surveys, which measures the performance of an organisational silo, rather than the entire experience.
Instead, consider the entire customer journey and gather the right metrics across different departments, channels and products that drive a more effective customer experience.
Whilst overarching metrics like churn rates and lifetime customer value will likely drive overall strategy, you should consider the micro-conversions such as website interactions and speed of issue resolution to understand the true efficiency of your CX.
Think omnichannel, not multichannel
Whilst digital finance has become the default for many customers, there is still a place for the personal, human touch.
To maximise sales, financial services organisations need to effectively combine digital and human channels to create seamless omnichannel experiences.
While multichannel is about providing a variety of customer service options, omnichannel brings interconnectivity and consistency across channels for seamless engagement between consumer and company.
Think automation, not additional agents
Whilst we shouldn’t undervalue the unique ability of human agents to assess and respond to customer situations, automation should be leveraged to streamline the process and accelerate issue resolution.
While adding agent resources can manage any short-term impact, this is not a successful long-term solution. With automation, solutions can be implemented that make a significant contribution to resolving customer problems and empowering your existing service agents:
- Chatbots and self-service knowledge bases can supplement agents and operate 24/7.
- Integrated omnichannel solutions can provide real-time records of historic touchpoints and requests to provide a 360-degree customer view to agents on-demand.
- Intelligent routing can ensure that those requests are handled by the right agent at the right time via the right channel.
Change your perspective. Transform your customer experience.
By shifting how you see your customer experience, you can build a strong competitive edge in the finance sector. Consumer-centric and personalised customer journeys will drive recommendations, reduced churn and opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell your existing customers.
Crucially, flexible and modular technology must be at the centre of your CX capability. You need to employ technology that allows you to execute on the trends outlined above.
We’d love to help you implement this capability.
Speak to one of our team today and let’s create your dream customer experience.