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Customer service communication tips for financial services

4 MIN READ

A world-class customer service can make or break digital banking. Prioritizing exceptional customer support is essential to increasing conversions and boosting sales.

  • Good customer service delivers a personalized experience that makes customers feel listened to and understood. Feeling like their well-being is the bank’s priority increases satisfaction.
  • Building a trusting relationship with customers is imperative in banking where financial security is at stake. By establishing trust, banks can create an enduring and productive relationship with clients.
  • Retaining customers is cheaper than attracting new customers. Offering a positive customer experience is vital in ensuring the customers return to use your services and remain loyal to your brand.
  • By constantly improving the customer journey, eliminating friction points where customers might otherwise drop off, and providing personalized support, banks can improve conversion rates and accelerate sales.

7 tips for a winning digital banking customer service

1. Go digital

Today’s customers are familiar with using digital platforms to communicate. Banking advisors should also be available to help via digital channels. Chatbots serve as a first port of call. Then live chat, video, and audio call technology offer an effective way for advisors and clients to communicate, enabling visitors to chat with their bank whenever they want. Meanwhile, co-browsing and screen sharing are there to take the conversation to the next level.

2. The human touch

The digitization of banking allows increased speed and efficiency, but customers still appreciate the human touch. Chatbots are exceptionally useful, but they don’t always understand the nuances of human conversation. In these instances, people want to speak to a real advisor. And so it’s vital that banks provide the option for customers to pivot from self-service via chatbots to speaking to a human advisor in a way that’s simple and seamless.

3. Train to deliver

In the race to embrace digital technology, sometimes customer service teams aren’t given the necessary training to ensure they continue to provide high-quality advice to customers. Instead of using technology to provide improved guidance, customer service teams sometimes use it as a means to simply push products or ease their own workload. Providing adequate training to employees enables advisors to deliver exceptional customer service, using the digital tools at their disposal to elevate their ability to help.

4. Understand the customer

Some queries are sensitive and require handling by an experienced advisor with that innately human capacity for understanding and reassurance. For example, inquiring into a mortgage can be a big step for a customer. Do they really want to begin this process by speaking to a bot? Digital tools can radically improve speed and efficiency but it’s only by truly understanding customer needs that these tools can be leveraged to create value for the customer.

5. Customer-centric conversations

Customer support teams need to be prepared to communicate with the client on their terms, adapting their service to the customer’s specific needs. While video call has many advantages, it might not always be the preferred option. Customers having a bad hair day, for example, might appreciate a simple audio call instead. Similarly, asynchronous messaging allows customers to communicate with advisors whenever it suits them, even if they’re on the go. They can do so according to their unique schedules.

6. Star treatment

While many aspects of customer service have changed with the advent of digital technology, the same etiquette still applies in most situations. Customers still appreciate basic human courtesy. In the transition to digital communication channels, customer service teams should continue to create a positive experience. This means listening, being empathetic, striving to make a good first impression, and using positive language to communicate with customers.

7. Constantly improving

Banks can’t improve the customer experience unless they understand where the problems are. Asking for feedback provides insights into the customer journey. But sometimes being asked for feedback can be a nuisance for time-pressed customers. Giving feedback should be a positive experience. Keep surveys short and relevant. Incentives like entry to a sweepstake could also encourage customers to fill them in.

Digital banking customer service & Unblu

Unblu’s conversational and collaboration tools for banks and insurance companies empower advisors to deliver an exceptional customer experience: one that puts the client front and center. Learn more about how tools such as co-browsing and live chat can enhance your customer service today by booking a demo and Unblu will reach out to help.