Bringing Service Back To Banking

Customer experience (CX) at retail banks has dropped in priority over the past year. It is important to address this shift and reprioritise the relationship between customers and banks. Doing so is beneficial for both long and short-term financial goals.

Eighty percent of customers value the experience a company provides as much as its product and service offerings. Consumers want a personalised experience and instant resolution and communication from their banks.

One proven way to deliver meaningful experiences at every customer touchpoint is by implementing autonomous finance, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to deliver optimised experiences. Autonomous finance can help provide these personalised, seamless experiences for consumers and bring the “service” back to banking.

Here’s how retail banks can optimise customer experiences in this new, all-digital world.

Personalising the customer experience matters

No one wants to feel like just another name on a list of customers. By analysing customer data, businesses can predict their customer’s needs and communicate consistently across all channels providing a personalised experience.

Banks should tailor offers to each customer, keeping in mind what their financial portfolio looks like. For instance, if a customer already has two credit cards, they’ll find constant offers for a new credit card exhausting. Although people demand the convenience of digital offerings like mobile and online banking, they still want to know there’s a person on the other end who cares. Understand where your customers are at in their lives and offer services to best fit them at that moment in time — whether it’s refinancing student loans or creating a new savings account to prepare for a family.

Transparency is key to establishing trust and loyalty

A little transparency goes a long way, especially in personal banking when dealing with people’s finances. Communicating with customers often can build trust and loyalty while also improving financial literacy. Offering automated notifications for high and low balance as well as free credit scores establish transparency.

If a small business needs a loan, they’ll want to know what stage the loan review process is in. In this case, a real-time digital tracker or notification updates can provide the transparency customers seek.

Users want a simple, intuitive experience

Digital banking services are now standard, which means customers know what to evaluate when comparing the speed and usability of online and mobile offerings. Users want easy-to-use banking platforms that offer quick logins, digestible features, and products they need.

Banks need to meet customers where they prefer to communicate, whether it’s through a chatbot, live agent, contact form, SMS message, WhatsApp, or social media. Chatbots are especially helpful in addressing customers quickly and helping them navigate the platform to get the answer they need, without being put on hold or speaking with an automated representative.

Digital culture drives experience improvements

Banks need to be flexible and allow both in-office and remote work as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. If not all teams are digital, it can create a disconnect and a subpar customer experience. Getting all employees from the back-office to frontline workers onboard with the digital journey to work towards one goal as an organisation is important. For example, in early 2020, people working from home had to constantly make trips to the office to get loan paperwork when it could have been transferred to digital files. This inefficient practice led to delayed customer service and communication.

Consumers today have so many choices of who they allow to manage their finances. For retail banks, improving customer experience is a critical competitive edge. Research shows 81% of companies will mostly or completely compete on the basis of CX over the next few years.

People want all the benefits of digital but still crave human interaction. But, overhauling any aspect of a business can sound intimidating. However, it can drive business growth and customer loyalty. Autonomous finance can address these areas, setting the industry up for future success.

This post was originally published on the U.S.-version of the Salesforce blog.