More than 50% of customers will switch brands if they’re not happy. Yes, even their banks. At a time when fintech has revolutionised access to banking through innovative startups and solutions designed to optimise the customer’s journey and finances, financial institutions are under pressure to rethink their customer experiences (CX). It is not a back-office function. It is smoothing every part of the process from first click to last call. Customers want to know they can access their funds, speak to a human, and connect with a company that genuinely wants to meet their needs.
Authenticity, connection and service are the buzzwords driving CX in 2024.
This is reflected in the Zendesk CX Trends 2024 report. Some of the key statistics to consider are:
– 59% believe that the ways in which they interact with a company will change completely by 2026
– 56% of companies are looking to implement conversational commerce within the next year
– 67% believe bots can help their brands build stronger connections with customers
Differentiate through experiences
CX has become a key business differentiator within the financial services sector. Companies are sought out for their ability to connect with the customer and provide them with the services they need to thrive financially and resolve problems at speed. The sector has traditionally been perceived as one stuck in legacy architecture and approaches, slow to respond, poor with customer connections and limited in its ability to connect with its customers.
It is a tradition slowly being eroded by the potential of technology and the radical changes wrought by companies willing to reimagine the sector’s reputation and perceptions.
According to International Banker, the industry is under pressure to prioritise the customer experience to ensure it can meet changing expectations and market demands. It points out that, “There is a serious need to be committed to customers every day in every product, service delivery and interaction.”
A realistic CX integration delivers results
Leaping into technology isn’t the right way to benefit from CX anymore than ignoring technology will help a company stay the course. For FNB, a South African financial institution with a 185-year legacy, the move towards CX was intelligent and aligned with its sales and service strategies.
The company had been struggling with a disjointed customer relationship management (CRM) system within a siloed environment that was limiting its ability to share data and insights. If, for example, the commercial arm wanted to talk to the retail arm about a shared customer, this wasn’t possible because everyone was in a different silo. This meant the company had to build bridges between the silos and ended up with more bridges than silos.
To resolve this challenge and build a strong foundation to support all business units, FNB partnered with Mint to create a common data model that allowed for the company to view entities across regions and segments. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365, Mint expertise, and smart support from Microsoft, the company achieved 80% adoption within weeks.
Mint worked closely with FNB to transform its CX foundations and now the company is in a position to identify customer service challenges, customer behaviour patterns, case urgency and volume, and pathways to enhanced experiences.
Achievable and measurable, the CX approach provided through Mint’s expertise and collaboration with Microsoft can transform your strategies and customer engagement.
