Read this before investing in a Digital Customer Interaction Solution

By Joss Burns Researcher & Writer

Your bank agents work on the experience frontline of your financial services institution, whether that’s a retail bank or credit union. The experience they deliver is pivotal as customers tend to judge institutions on the quality of their customer service. 

A consistently positive customer experience is enough to convince 92% of customers to stay with a bank and 87% to purchase more. What’s more, poor customer service – particularly limited communication options – can impact customer retention rates and improve customer loyalty.

However, even a well trained and experienced team is limited by the quality of the tools available to them. In a banking customer service context, that means they must have access to a Digital Customer Interaction Solution to deliver on expectations time after time.

What is a Digital Customer Interaction Solution?

According to Forrester, Digital Customer Interaction Solutions (DCIS) are purpose-built software solutions that enhance customer interactions. 

By providing agents and advisors with the ability to serve customers across digital channels – whether chat, messaging, SMS, Co-Browsing or more – these solutions enhance the digital customer experience.

Why invest in a Digital Customer Interaction Solution?

Digital Customer Interaction Solutions offer a range of benefits for both customers and retail banking agents.

Benefits for customers 

For customers, the service experience is greatly enhanced. Not only can they contact the financial services institution on their preferred digital channel, but they can also enjoy a seamless, continuous experience from one interaction to the next – without having to worry about data security or privacy issues.

The agent experience

Agents, on the other hand, are better empowered to ensure the experience that customers expect. Much of the frustration that agents report in their work comes from an inability to solve issues in the manner that customers want. 

Whether that is a matter of not having full context at any given time or not having access to the right tools, agents need the tools to perform their job effectively.

Top KPIs that Digital Customer Interaction Solutions impact

But this begs the question: what exactly does a Digital Customer Interaction Solution do? Let’s explore the specific KPIs that can be improved by using this software.

Faster resolutions times 

Issue resolution speed is a key concern among customers with a reported 98% claiming that it is something they value in a service. However, only 58% of banking organizations are able to achieve acceptable resolution times. 

For banks, swift issue resolution improves customer engagement and can have long-term benefits as customers “are more loyal, have more digital touchpoints with their chosen brands, and deliver greater value over their lifetime.”

Reducing customer support calls

Lowering issue resolution times is a multifaceted issue but one of the key approaches is to focus on reducing the number of incoming calls.

This can be achieved through the use of Conversational AI, which combines generative artificial intelligence Live Chat channels to provide a smooth experience for simple to mid-level issues.

Of course, a customer or agent can escalate the conversation at any point to a video chat or more to ensure the customer’s needs are fully met.
Our own customers report that the chatbot can resolve up to 70 to 80% of issues, making agents three times more productive.

Enhancing the collaborative experience

Not all customer queries or requests can be solved through deflection, particularly if there is an emotional component to the issue – such as taking out a mortgage or another large life decision.

When this happens, customers require in-depth, side-by-side support that mimics what happens in an in-branch environment. Not only does this improve satisfaction and other key metrics, but empowering the agents to deliver a collaborative experience improves resolution time. 

The tools needed to achieve this are Co-Browsing for a desktop context and Co-Apping for a mobile app equivalent. In fact, high-touch tools of this kind can reduce the AHT for phone calls by 20%.

For the Italian bank Banco Dello Stato, the use of Live Chat and Co-Browsing proved instrumental in their digital channel diversification strategy – positively impacting customer satisfaction.

Reduce contact center costs 

In many cases, call center managers have to balance customer expectations with the cost of delivering them. What’s more, given that two thirds of millennials expect real-time customer service whenever they need it, the bar is set high to deliver on them.

However, by embracing the above approach of deflection through channel diversification, managers can reduce costs through improved efficiency.

For example, with Live Chat tools, one agent can handle two or more conversations at the same time – representing a marked improvement in efficiency when compared to phone calls. 

Improve conversion rate and increase sales 

But cost reduction is not the only financial upside to offering better customer journeys through a Digital Customer Interaction Solution. An improved customer service can directly lead to higher conversion rates and an increase in revenue growth.

One great example of this is the Prague-based bank Raiffeisenbank, which managed to increase their conversion rate by 5% then up to 8% the following month through an improved customer service experience. 

This was done by gaining valuable insights from each customer interaction and using the information to make offers that might be of interest to the individual. Of course, all of this depended on ensuring that as many digital interactions as possible were positive, making the customer more receptive to making a purchase. 

Investing in the right Digital Customer Interaction Solution

When investing in a DCIS, it’s important to choose an online platform that meets your organization’s needs. Failure to do so will negatively impact the quality or accuracy of the service you deliver. 

Here’s what you should keep in mind. 

Tailored to your context

What are the functions that you need in your service context? While this may be delivering remote customer service excellence, it could also be more focused on an advice use case or in lifting your personalized experience in branch. 

Desired digital customer experience

What are the most important elements of digital customer experience that you want your customers to have access to?

If there is a lot of back and forth discussion, having a Secure Messenger channel may be a key consideration. If it is a more service-based use case, perhaps the quality of the chatbot would be the main deciding factor.

Before making a decision, take some time to consider the end user experience and identify the channels or features that best align.

Human agent/advisor fit

Your end customers are not the only stakeholders in question when choosing a Digital Customer Interaction Solution. It is also vital to consider the platform from the point of view of the service provider, whether that is an agent or advisor.

Capabilities such as Document Collaboration or Interaction Management Hubs are essential to ensure a seamless experience that empowers agents and advisors to provide the best service possible.

Your current ecosystem

Before investing in any online platform, you must consider how it will fit into your current tech stack or wider ecosystem. This means looking at relevant integrations, robust security measures of the prospective platform, and what roadmap is in place for integration.

Unsure how to compare platforms?

Achieving digital customer service excellence across the entire customer journey is no easy feat. Every user journey is different and it’s a challenge to balance a healthy average handle time with self service channels, traditional channels, and more – while also ensuring a consistent experience. 

This is why choosing the right Digital Client Interaction Solution is so difficult. 

With so many options available, it can be challenging to know where to begin to make an informed decision. That’s why we’ve created a guide to help you identify and compare important features across a number of areas.

Interested in our Unblu Buyer’s Guide for Digital Client Interaction Solutions?

DOWNLOAD NOW