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Mobile apps, websites, visual IVR, or chatbots; digital tools for customer relations are abundant for banking institutions. However, how can these new tools be best utilized without destabilizing their clientele? 38% of questions asked by bank customers do not find answers through digital channels: this is the concerning finding of an Eptica study on customer experience conducted in 2017. This figure is even more alarming as it is 10 points higher than the non-response rate across all sectors (28%), raising the question: Are banks fully exploiting the potential offered by digital in terms of customer experience ?
Social networks, email, instant messaging, and telephone, according to a study published by Dimelo, are the four preferred channels of communication between a company and its customers. This variety of contact points, depending on the strategy, can be seen as an opportunity to reach a broad target, or as a handicap when some of these channels are not exploited. In the banking sector, the situation does not inspire optimism. While 50% of banks offer only one digital conversation channel, only 10% are present on three of them, and this figure drops to 0% when considering all four channels.
"It therefore seems that banks are not yet fully equipped technologically to offer a better digital customer experience."
Olivier Njamfa
CEO of Eptica (the agency that conducted this study)
But then, what strategy should be adopted to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by digital tools in terms of customer experience?
According to a Qualiweb study published in February 2017, 79% of French people contact customer service on several digital channels. Email remains unsurprisingly the primary digital channel used (70%) ahead of instant messaging and social networks.
The goal, therefore, is to be present where customers expect you, and to combine contact points according to the targeted age groups. A combination of social media and instant messaging will thus be preferable for 18-25 year-olds, while an approach based on telephone and email will be more suitable for senior customers.
The key will be to show your customers that you understand and adapt to their needs. In this regard, digital tools must be presented as a way to simplify your customers' lives and not as a means for the company to save money. For this, do not hesitate to combine a traditional contact channel (such as telephone) with a digital channel (such as chat) for a given request (e.g., requesting information on a loan). Then, ensure that the advantages of the digital solution (speed of processing, no waiting, etc.) are highlighted so that the customer themselves selects the digital option.
