Choice. Convenience. Loyalty. Advocacy. Today, perhaps more than ever, retail and commercial banking customers alike have nearly unlimited choices when selecting their banking partner. Customers also expect more than ever from their financial institutions. During a time when banking is continuously upended by established tech firms and nimble tech start-ups alike, from Amazon with their introduction of Amazon Cash to China’s Alibaba issuing $96 billion in loans over 5 years, customers have grown accustomed to seamlessly intuitive design and expect experiences that equally deliver satisfaction. These experiences have led to increased demands and expectations from commercial customers to ensure a high-touch, seamless customer experience (CX).
This concern for digital lag coupled with increasing competition continues to push banking institutions to innovate and deliver their services where their customers most expect them to be – in person, online, across screens, and over voice. Customers are focusing on their own experience by consistently increasing their use of digital technology, including voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant on their smartphones or Alexa or Google Home at home, which has contributed to rising consumer trust among tech brands like Amazon and Apple. In a recent study, US and UK consumers ranked PayPal and Amazon nearly as high as banks for trust with their money and many are increasingly open to buying financial products from established tech firms. Largely, these brands have also mastered expertise in digital and customer experience and their large customer base would allow them to easily market new offerings and services, which include financial capabilities and products, to both individual and commercial customers.
In the effort to retain and innovate, brands continue to focus on technology, systems, platforms, apps and outlets to best deliver service how and where their customers expect. They must also consider the customer experience along the way – paying particular attention during the upgrades and conversions of those systems that customers have become accustomed to and familiar with. Retail banking customers have experienced the benefits of upgraded and seamless technology in their personal banking experiences and are pushing commercial banking institutions to review and modify their own systems and platforms. While CX is defined by how customers perceive their interactions with a brand, compared to retail banking the complexity of commercial banking often presents new challenges in the mission to safeguard and upgrade those interactions and experiences.
Without the development and execution of a strong blueprint for CX success during a system conversion or upgrade, banks themselves can be plagued by doubt and distraction while customers can be left confused, concerned and not prepared for the platform that awaits them, asking questions like: Why change? How do I log in? Where is my data? How do I _______?
Key Elements to A Strong Blueprint for CX Success: Inform and Engage
Our work implementing full client system conversions and upgrades has proven that the best approach to developing a successful CX blueprint for use during a conversion is to focus on the opportunities to inform and engage with the customer along the way. By developing and implementing experiences that align with the individual brand, the transition can be authentic and seamless to the customer.
Our follow up article will include 5 ways to ensure the CX Strategy is informative and engaging.
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For customers, choice and convenience leads to loyalty and advocacy. The RWC Group manages the development and implementation of system conversions and upgrades, including ensuring a successful, authentic, and engaging Customer Experience Blueprint that delivers communications and information where customers expect it, allowing our customers to focus on the conversion and systems that benefit their customers the most. We’ve executed countless successful conversions and upgrades and implemented the necessary CX Blueprint plans to accompany a smooth transition in technology. We are ready for the opportunity to do the same for you.
