SoftServe, our Gold Sponsor for the 5th World Digital Banking Summit, shares their thoughts on making a difference with digital banking initiatives. Continue reading:
One of the positive outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the considerable boost digital tools have given banks and financial service providers in understanding the customer experience and journey. Financial institutions have learned their customers now expect the same online experience them as they receive from other online retailers. In addition, those customers expect more than just an online version of the branch visit.
Financial institutions must offer digital financial services that are customer-centric. Applications must be simple in design, respond well to individual needs, be easy to use, interactive, and available where consumers are used to looking for them.
To develop these services, a comprehensive understanding of the customer is necessary. For example, what does their current life situation look like? What are their values and pain points? What are their financial goals? And what information do they need to make sound investment decisions?
Banks and other financial institutions still struggle with leveraging customer data to define personas and customer journey mapping. Success here enhances their customers' experience with provided services.
Delivering relevant, personalized customer services can provide a tremendous competitive advantage for financial services market providers. The basis of every individualized offer is personal data. While customers are often willing to share their personal financial information in return for a relevant user experience, they also want to understand how the information is used and what value it is creating—across all channels.
This willingness to share data can pave the way to a seamless omnichannel experience that will allow the customer to complete a consultation process that began on their home computer, in-person at the brick-and-mortar branch location, or on their smartphone without having to re-enter data. As mobile channels have multiplied, customers should be the focus.
The digital banking user experience must become personal
People are increasingly turning towards self-service applications. However, there is a great need for improvement in this field. Customers are forced to use one-size-fits-all websites, and the digital tool selections on financial service products are too complex for many and may not be granular enough for others. Requests cannot be formulated using a natural language and must be laboriously converted into search parameters.
The information offered throughout many customer journeys often lacks personal context since unstructured data from different sources is not meaningfully integrated into a customer's ‘gold record.’
When banks interact with their customers, things don't look much better. The product range often isn't based on previous transactions or current life events. Information from previous customer contact and interaction is not passed on internally because data sources aren't integrated. Therefore, the profitability of an individual customer remains unknown, which bars the way to know-your-customer solutions with tailor-made suggestions.
How banks and financial service providers can increase customer satisfaction
Technology must not be an end; it has to offer added value. Through an integrated Cloud ecosystem, Big Data can be combined with applications that interact with each other on a single platform, along with a proper data model for effective interaction.
The result will be a seamless interaction of self-service and advice, as well as peer reviews with automated notifications without cumbersome configuration. This is already common practice in other industries such as e-commerce but is still sorely missed by financial clients. Financial product alternatives based on personal preference, financial goals, and risk tolerance may be offered. Topics of interest and best next steps are automatically displayed, along with updates regarding what's new since the customer's previous login.
Those financial institutions that know their customers well and have a 360° view of their wants and needs will have a clear advantage over those that don't. As a result, these institutions can create tailor-made offers based on previous communication and the client's transactions and life events.
Having a solid view of your customers' experience and its in-depth integration with the company's tech ecosystem and core business model can also be crucial for those financial institutions who want to be on top of their customers' journey.
Overall, holistic customer experiences with a user-centric design that empowers customers can make a difference. To meet the needs of this evolving market, SoftServe can be a good partner as financial services companies work to transform passive clients into active customers.
SoftServe has developed a range of use cases that can empower businesses at every stage of their digital maturity. Among them is our Private Wealth Management Solution, which helps strengthen existing customer loyalty and attracts new customers. And SoftServe's Chatbot Artificial Intelligence (CAI) solution combines Cloud with conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide an interactive and flexible client journey in financial advisory, designed to unlock the potential of digital engagement between the new customer and financial advisor.
Let's talk about leveraging SoftServe's extensive domain and technical expertise to help you meet your business objectives and strengthen your market position!
ANTONINA SKRYPNYK
Sr. Client Partner, Head of financial services lab
