By Uthaman Bakthikrishnan, Executive Vice President, ClearTouch India
In recent years, the traditional operation of banks has changed, they are in a hurry to transform. It is undeniable that banking institutions that have adopted a modern and agile bank are much more advanced in meeting challenges and meeting customer expectations in a transparent manner. Nowadays, it is crucial for banking institutions to create a new/innovative, universal, intelligent and user-friendly digital experience for their customers.
Additionally, smart devices have allowed banks to get closer to their customers by providing a range of products and services through their banking apps. A report by PWC and FICCI indicates that by 2030, 80% of traditional financial companies will cease to exist and traditional banks that have yet to adapt will be left behind. Thus, to accelerate the transformation and stay one step ahead, banking establishments will have to differentiate themselves on the customer experience rather than on their products and services in the coming years.
Let’s take the example of a client looking for a home loan. He visits several banking websites offering home loans and comes across an attractive offer that a bank offers at 6.5% interest. He schedules an appointment for the next day at 10 a.m. with a home loan expert by interacting with the web chat option on the bank’s website. At 10 a.m. the next day, when he reached the local branch, he was greeted by the credit expert. The loan adjuster has him fill in some basic information about himself on his tablet. These details are sent to their backend and they create a basic customer profile.
The customer gets his doubts clarified and leaves satisfied with the bank. An hour later, he receives an email from the bank’s loan expert summarizing their conversation and all the details related to the home loan offer, including his eligibility for the loan. The loan expert also leaves them the customer service number if they need additional information or clarification.
He decides to shortlist the bank for the home loan and knowing how much loan he can avail, starts looking for a house. Meanwhile, they call customer service and get help filling out the online home loan application, and they get it approved. He finds a place within ten days, and with the loan pre-approved and completes the formalities within ten days. The customer service platform solicits feedback through an automated voicemail system. After this interaction, the customer receives an email listing the information provided and how to quickly contact customer service.
Here we have seen how banking will become more and more digitally embedded in consumers’ lives than ever before. Banks will need to take advantage of digital technologies to deliver personalized and seamless banking experiences to their customers and this trend is here to stay. Some aspects which will further drive innovation while shaping the competitive landscape of the BFSI industry are as follows.
• Integrated systems: Banking systems have tight integrations, allowing them to capture every customer interaction and create a 360 degree view of the customer. This further enables the system to understand the customer’s needs and all their interactions at every touchpoint – both digital and physical.
• Integration of the right contact center cloud platform: The BFSI sector is growing at a rapid pace and to maintain this momentum, it is important that suppliers ensure customer satisfaction at every touch point of the customer journey. It can be as simple as acquiring a new customer or retaining existing customers. A cloud contact center platform can help provide quality customer service and experience. They will be available 24/7 as the platform allows their agents to work from anywhere, anytime and using any device.
• Security standards in the contact center platform: This is one of the most important aspects when it comes to protecting customer data and privacy. It is important for banking institutions to ensure that their contact center platform meets all compliance requirements. For example, a contact center platform must be PCI compliant to ensure secure practices for handling credit card and other payment information. Likewise, SOC 2 certification is important for handling customers’ insider financial information.
• Self-service capabilities and availability of live agents and experts: It provides self-service options to customers for common tasks such as finding information and booking appointments. Using self-service systems, customers can check their financial account information, loan details, payment status, and book new checkbooks instead of going to a branch. Customers can also use a self-service system to learn more about the recommended prerequisites they will need to meet to apply for loans.
• Automated Interactive Voicemail: In the example, we can see that the bank used an automated voicemail system to solicit customer feedback. It is integrated with the mail system to update the client and save their entries in the backend. It further helps to gather critical customer information from the conversations between the bank and its customers.
• Omnichannel banking: All channels are integrated to provide a single view of the customer. Inbound Contact Center Services, Outbound Contact Center Services, Web Chat, Website, Physical Meetings, Automated Messaging, and Self-Service have worked together to deliver the best possible customer experience to the customer.
AI is already helping banks better understand their customers’ preferences, allowing them to personalize at scale and improve the overall customer experience. An environment where customers will be able to access banking services anytime, anywhere, without depending on anyone. COVID-19 has further accelerated the shift to online banking and the evolution of how banking institutions manage relationships with their customers.
New data points acquired from customers are affecting the way financial institutions do business. Providing customers with the relevant information they need enables financial institutions to tailor their customer experience. With more people embracing a digital medium to access an account, it allows these businesses to have that one-to-one connection with customers in a meaningful way. They have systems built into the products and services they use that help deliver a seamless customer journey.
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