When the professional world, both in terms of financial services and beyond, thinks of customer experience, certain catch phrases come to mind: omni-channel experience, budgeting tools, and your mobile app’s interface.
However, how often is your customer experience truly focused on human interaction? When most organizations map out their customer journeys, there are many non-human touch points. Online investigation, product reviews, using your organization’s mobile app and conducting background research are all familiar touch points which, notably, don’t feel inherently “human.”
Because of this, your organization needs to think about how you can leverage a human touch to differentiate you from the anonymous world of online marketing. Consider the following when thinking about your customer experience.
Evolved Banking Branches
Branches will continue to evolve in different ways as banks and financial institutions look to improve and meet customer expectations. At the center of this change will be customer-centricity and a model that adopts to changing technology.
Notably, branches will focus less on transactional activities that will largely be conducted online by customers (transfers, deposits, etc.) and focus more on selling and explaining new products and services.
Additionally, branches will become education centers for online financial tools. As organizations enhance partnerships with FinTech companies, they will have a vested interest in making sure customers get the most out of these budgeting tools, and that they can use them in a truly impactful way.
Finally, branches may change their models to solicit more casual foot traffic. Similar to Capital One 360 Cafes, there may be an increased tendency to resemble a coffee shop, where banking activities are simply an option, rather than a given, when someone enters the branch location.
Sophisticated AI Mixed With Real People
Another way your financial institution can humanize your customer experience is by creating a smooth transition between AI and genuine human interaction. AI is being used in sophisticated and unique ways, such as leveraging customer data to create personalized offers, or starting customer assistance conversations with a chatbot.
By creating a seamless transition from chatbot to employee representative, for example, you increase customer satisfaction and openness to that type of chatbot functionality in the future. Similarly, you honor both your employees’ time as well as your customers’.
Financial Consultation
Millennials and Gen Z think of their finances (ie their checking/savings accounts and financial institution) and their financial wellbeing in the same light. With the abundance of tools financial institutions offer, customers both maintain their finances largely through an online or mobile portal, and analyze their finances in the same place.
Through this combination of storing and analyzing, there is a unity between financial transactions and financial wellbeing. Additionally, online tools can only go so far to truly address an individuals complex financial picture. With this in mind, your financial institution should utilize your relationship with customers to open up opportunities for you to serve as customers’ financial advisor.
By serving as an advisor, you can deepen your relationship with customers, utilize their data in a truly sophisticated way, and moving forward, you can synchronize your financial consulting with the development and enhancement of your online platform.
