In an interview with CNBC Africa<\/a>, Absa\u2019s Shenin Singh, Managing Executive of Customer Value Management, <\/b>and Zuko Mdwaba, Area Vice President of Salesforce South Africa, <\/b>share how personalisation can improve financial inclusion, drive efficiency, and protect against fraud. <\/b>Absa<\/a> is one of Africa\u2019s largest financial services groups, offering a range of retail, business, corporate, and investment banking, as well as wealth management and insurance products, primarily in South Africa and Namibia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how Absa uses real-world tactics to create tangible and impactful outcomes for its customers, employees, and community. Watch the full interview on CNBC Africa here<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn how African financial services firms can develop more personalised, attentive, and trusted digital client relationships with their growing customer base.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Advanced analytics are changing the game for banks and customers alike.<\/b> Singh gave the example of someone buying their first home. \u201cWhen engaging first-time homebuyers in a conversation, banks need to respond to the underlying needs, rather than trying to sell a product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the time to surface multiple moments of value.<\/b> First-time buyers may have different needs compared to someone buying their second or third home: they\u2019re more likely to need credit to furnish their new home and an insurance plan to protect it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With this additional knowledge, an advisor can empathise with their customer, and alleviate the pressure of finding multiple providers by offering a more holistic solution. And this drastically improves the customer experience. Building these holistic experiences will become a key differentiator for banks, as 56% of South Africans feel most companies don\u2019t treat them as individuals<\/a>. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n However\u2026 There\u2019s a fine line between clever and creepy. To strike the right balance, Singh and her team carry out a lot of customer testing. Absa simulates an increasingly personalised experience, showing customers how the level of personalisation changes depending on how much of their data is used. \u201cTo understand this line, the best voice is the voice of our customer,\u201d said Singh. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we strive to bring in.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n These personalised, relevant experiences are even more important in the inclusive banking segment. <\/b>\u201cWe see a powerful difference between customers who live 15km away from a branch, and those who live closer,\u201d explained Singh. \u201cThose who live closer hold more products with the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With personalisation, Absa can provide the right product, at the right time, to the right customer. <\/b>And this means it can expand financial access beyond the borders of branches, and into digital channels \u2013 like the app, or WhatsApp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers are way more savvy about how their data is used, stored, analysed and protected. In fact, 85% of South Africans are more likely to trust a company with their personal information if its use is clearly explained<\/a>. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Which is exactly what Absa does. It gives customers practical, tangible examples of how data usage betters their experience. <\/b>And while there are plenty of use cases within customer experience and marketing, there\u2019s one that goes beyond sales and service: fraud protection. \u201cBecause we know you so well, we know when it\u2019s not you logging into the app or onto the website to make a transaction,\u201d explained Singh. \u201cAnd then we can freeze those transactions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Absa makes it clear: data use enables customers, but it protects them too.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Singh and Mdwaba know that automation done correctly frees up employees to serve customers more effectively. In finance, automating financial planning and accounting functions frees up time for higher-value activities like analysis, strategy and collaboration. <\/b>In marketing, you can identify your audience, design relevant content and auto-trigger actions based on customer behaviour. And in customer experience, tools like chatbots and self-service free agents help with complex issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Absa empowers its customer-facing colleagues with data, which has led to richer conversations and more productive salespeople. By meeting underlying needs rather than focusing on a single product \u2013 like speaking with first-time buyers about home loans, credit products, and insurance \u2013 Absa has been able to drive three times more sales per interaction. <\/b>And this is a result of personalised recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, since helping colleagues have more personalised conversations with customers, Absa\u2019s front-line use of leads has gone up almost two-fold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of all the times you make a contactless payment, make a withdrawal from an ATM, pay a friend via a banking app, or explore complex products like investments. And, if you need help with any of these services, you may pop into a branch, ring a customer helpline, or send a DM via the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To handle these different interactions, there\u2019s a myriad of customer engagement platforms, multiplied across all of a bank\u2019s products and services. <\/b>That\u2019s a huge amount of terrain to cover in very little time. It\u2019s why complexity can quickly get in the way of your personalisation efforts. \u201cThe average company uses 1,000 apps to run business processes and store customer data,\u201d says Mdwaba. \u201cIt\u2019s not efficient, effective or affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s vital to find a way to integrate all these platforms to provide a personalised journey across the entire matrix,\u201d added Singh.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Absa and Salesforce work together to empower Absa\u2019s staff \u2013 and improve its processes \u2013 to deliver personalisation in the right moments, and at scale. Using Salesforce, Absa can deploy personalised analytics<\/a> that go straight to front-line colleagues so they can engage customers with more personal and productive conversations.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\nAfrican Financial Services\u2019 Foundation for Growth<\/span><\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"sa-foundation-for-growth-form\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/02\/sa-foundation-for-growth-form.png\")
\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nFour ways Absa uses personalisation for better outcomes<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Improve the banking experience<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Help with financial inclusion<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Protect against fraud<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Drive efficiency and sales productivity<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But what inhibits personalisation?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How does Absa use Salesforce to engage customers and create personalised journeys?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n