4 Ways to Improve Your Digital Customer Experience (CX)
Now more than ever, having an easy-to-use digital experience is critical to your institution. In fact, it’s estimated that over 62% of people now use digital banking.
As institutions transition to digital platforms across their business, customer experience becomes more important than ever in lending products. One study at the end of 2020 found that, customer experience overtook price and product as a key brand differentiator.
Yet, most are failing in their digital customer experience. The 2020 J.D. Power study on Customer Satisfaction across retail banks indicates overall satisfaction falls as customers transition to digital-only banking relationships.
Where should your institution concentrate on cultivating a better digital lending experience? In this brief article, we outline four ways to improve your CX to attract more customers and strengthen loyalty with your current client base.
1. Map Out Your Customer Journey
Personalization is the keyword when it comes to creating a great experience for your customers. They want to have the targeted help at the right time over the right medium. In fact, 44% of customers get frustrated if companies fail to give a personalized experience.
The best way that financial institutions can provide this level of personalization is with a deep understanding of the customer journey. Most of your customers already expect it: in one survey of over 15,000 consumers, 73% said they anticipated companies to understand their needs and expectations.
Undoubtedly, over the past year, we have seen how rapidly the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped customer expectations. As the lending industry continues to embrace better digital solutions, how can financial institutions gain an extra edge on their competitors? New technology can yield much better results if it is combined with an experienced team. In navigating the complexities of the global pandemic, it is essential to have an experienced and accessible team that can guide customers where needed. Digital innovation coupled with industry experience brings together the best of both worlds to your customers.
Moreover, customer journey maps provide insights into who your key customers are, their goals, and what steps they need to get there. Since banks have more than one type of customer, you will likely need different maps to lay out each customer segment’s journey. With a map, you can target different points of the customer journey that need your support and proactive assistance to provide a better experience for them.
2. Offer Live Assistance
With an understanding of the customer journey, you can provide proactive assistance to improve the customer experience. It’s not only important that you give the right kind of service. Instead, customers expect help for their issues immediately, no matter how busy your bank may be at the moment.
In one survey, 83% of customers stated that they expect immediate engagement, which has grown from 78% in 2019. How quickly you can address your clients’ concerns, the better their experience will be.
As a result, many banks are turning to technology to help offer immediate assistance. For example, Chatbots can help you respond and answer questions immediately and weed out the more routine questions so professionals can concentrate on the more complicated issues.
Most customers don’t mind this emphasis on technology to answer their questions. In fact, younger generations prefer it. One recent study of 4,000 customers found that Millennials and Gen X prefer getting financial tips through their digital devices.
3. Emphasize the Omnichannel Experience
The best customer experience is one that is uniform. Your customer will come to you across multiple mediums. In fact, 74% of customers now state they use multiple channels to start and complete a transaction, which is up from 71% in 2019. Yet, it’s estimated that only 49% of banks have a specific omnichannel management strategy in place.
Whether customers step into a branch, open your app, or pull up your website – your brand messaging, responsive customer service, and the overall experience should be the same. An emphasis on your omnichannel experience will help improve your customers’ overall experience with your bank.
4. Set Up Feedback Loops
Feedback loops allow you to catch issues before they become a problem. Marketing and selling to new customers can be a costly way to replace unhappy customers. Instead, find out what disappoints your customers to create a better experience and increase loyalty.
Your unhappy customers could cost your financial institution dearly: 58% of consumers will end a relationship with a business due to poor service. Unless you know how to proactively discover ways to improve your service, many customers will be more than willing to switch to the competition.
A simple survey can provide you with the information you need. Ask your customers to complete them and keep questions to a minimum. It will help you provide the best digital lending experience for your customers.
Create a Better Digital Experience
Your institution’s online presence is now just as important as its in-person one. By creating a great digital CX, you can reach more people and create a more loyal customer base. Following these tips is just the first step to create a better experience for your customers.
At Anovaa, we help our bank and credit union clients evaluate opportunities and build better lending products. You can learn more at anovaa.com or schedule a meeting today!