The modern customer expects relevant, personal, and accessible experiences when interacting with businesses. Moreover, they want to do business with brands they trust and where they feel valued, banking service providers are not an exemption. The good thing is that businesses are waking up to this reality, and focusing on giving the customers what they want. After all, competition is tough out there and your customers will always have another option. For any forward-thinking financial services provider, customer experience is the competitive differentiator. Focusing on solutions that put customers at the center is crucial if you are to attain growth. To that end, here are five solutions to your banking services to serve your customers better in a world where they expect nothing less.
Expedite and simplify processes
Long and painstaking bank processes can be frustrating for customers. Finding ways to ensure speedy and hassle-free processes is key to attracting customers and driving loyalty. This can be achieved by speeding up the decision-making procedures. Automated approvals for the onboarding process can translate into faster turnarounds during account opening for customers. Furthermore, reducing the number of clicks for online account opening can go a long way in expediting the process. Moreover, the experience should be the same for international customers as well. Businesses are expanding globally, and the need for a business bank account in countries of operation is imperative. For instance, for a business expanding to Hong Kong, opening a business bank account in the country can ensure easier payments and simpler tax returns. The good thing is that it is easy and straightforward to open a business bank account in Hong Kong even for non-residents.
Focus on the omnichannel experience
Considering the increased attachment to mobile devices, it would be easy to assume that banking is headed to an entirely digital affair. However, how and where customers do their banking tasks depends on what they want and where they are. For this reason, developing an excellent omnichannel experience is paramount. This means establishing a blend between traditional and digital banking. This also means giving your teams authoritative access to customer data across all touchpoints. For instance, a customer doesn’t have to repeat information that had been earlier input if he or she decides to stop interacting with a chatbot and contact a live agent instead.
Create a self-service support portal
One of the best ways to improve customer service is to empower your customers to serve themselves. DIY attitude is on the rise, and most people will try to fix issues first before running for assistance. Leverage this by providing ways customers can assist themselves through your mobile banking app. You can do this by creating and making available and accessible, detailed self-service support content. This way, customers can just refer to it when they experience hang-ups. Another great idea is to enable customers to complete certain requests securely on their own such as activating new login credentials or reporting a lost card among others.
Enhance your digital banking experience
For customers who decide to use your digital platform, ensuring that they have the best experience regardless of the device they are using is crucial. For starters, focus on mobile optimization. You don’t want your customers dealing with a full-size desktop webpage on a mobile device. In addition, enable electronic signatures to eliminate the need for customers to go to the branch to complete processes. Another area that you can focus on is ensuring a dynamic website interface design that is more approachable and easy to navigate.
Up customer service game
As much as most customers prefer self-service support, the need for human interaction with your bank can’t be entirely eliminated. Moreover, equipping your employees with the necessary tools needed to give your customers a positive experience is important. Invest in robust training in customer service to equip them with the right skills. In addition, build a knowledge base that they can go back to when faced with unfamiliar questions. Moreover, ensure around-the-clock customer support availability. AI-enabled automated digital assistants can help in this area.
Conclusion
It is a customer-centric world where all businesses are rallying their efforts in putting the customer first. Lagging behind can only mean losing your customers to the next bank services provider. There you have five strategies that you can implement to enhance your banking operations to appeal to your customers. Getting to know your customers, what they want, and what they prefer, through customer surveys, can also unlock insights on how to improve.