CX Network’s survey for the Global State of CX in Financial Services report found that people want convenience when interacting with the financial institutions they bank with or borrow from.
Below we look into why convenience is so important, why customers are happy to spend more to get it and how brands can deliver it with self-service and digital experiences.
Customers are happy to spend more for convenience
The report reveals that 79 percent of respondents either agree or strongly agree that financial customers are happy to spend more for convenience. With this in mind, brands should be aware that delivering on convenience could be the key differentiator that sets them apart from other financial institutions.
While convenience is key, it is not a substitute for a good customer experience. That is to say, customers will spend more on convenience but not at the cost of a negative experience. Muss Haq, strategic insights manager at UK-based retail bank TSB, breaks down how customers perceive the value associated with convenience:
“Customer-perceived value encompasses a combination of factors. These break down to the trust in the brand to maintain quality of service; the ease of transacting; the promise of resolving an issue quickly if service did not meet brand promise; and removing any inconvenience and uncertainty of engagement.”
To deliver on this convenience, financial brands can deploy automated chatbots to offer 24/7 support for customers. Such bots also enable self-service for many customers, another factor key to delivering convenience that will be discussed below.
Customers crave self-service opportunities
With customers desperate for convenience, it should come as no surprise that 75 percent of respondents note that customers want to use self-service channels when dealing with the financial institutions they do business with.
Jackie Buonassisi, vice-president of digital sales at US Bank believes that simply offering self-service is not enough, but that brands should ensure customers can self-service with minimal interruption to truly deliver convenience.
Buonassisi explains that it is important customers can self-serve without any interruption from the bank, that they can easily understand how to do so and they resolve their request in as close to real time as possible.
Shirley Campbell, CX director at online payment and transfer provider Payoneer, expands on this, remarking: “If we are saying that a customer can do something or go through a certain journey by themselves it should not be the case that the customer feels it is self-service but in the background a human touch is required, because that will lead to friction.”
Growth in digital CX is changing everything
Further evidence for the current level of customer demand for convenience comes from the fact that almost a third (32 percent) of respondents believe that the trend toward digital CX will have a bigger impact on their role than any other in 2022.
The importance of digital customer experiences became critical when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and financial businesses were forced to close physical branches. With customers no longer able to do business in-branch, customers across the world migrated online to handle financial transactions.
This saw financial institutions offer an unprecedented level of convenience that many customers now consider to be the standard. With 36 percent of respondents flagging digital CX as a top investment priority, more than any other investment opportunity, it is clear that financial organizations recognize the growing demand for digital services.
K V Dipu, senior president of India-based insurance company Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, says that the business has taken steps to deliver on the demand for digital:
“To offer our users real-time solutions, our customer-facing digital assets, such as bots and apps, interact with our CRM system which is plugged into our core platform.”
Dipu explains that this integration of technology into the business’ claims process has helped to manage the frustration customers would sometimes feel with the caution aspect of the claims process.
Is your business delivering on financial convenience? Let us know in the comments below.