While we won't delve into whether this holds true globally, it’s undoubtedly accurate for your customers. Every day, people everywhere depend on financial institutions worldwide. Whether it’s guiding them through significant life milestones or enabling them to check their savings while waiting for a flight, you must be there for them.
Financial services and insurance companies can no longer be confined to just one of these roles:
- A facilitator that oversees transactions
- An enabler that offers loans and mortgages
- An advisor that helps customers navigate the complexities of pensions, investments, trusts, and more
Being just one of these is no longer enough. It’s increasingly essential to go beyond and become a true partner in your customers' lifelong financial well-being. Whether you operate a retail bank, an insurance agency, or an asset management firm, the goal remains the same — it’s time to take a proactive approach.
However, these evolving consumer expectations are creating significant challenges for organizations whose traditional business models weren't designed for a digital, interactive relationship. Many are still grappling with how to provide the experiences their customers now demand:
- Nearly half of marketers and professionals in the finance sector acknowledge that their digital customer experience (CX) often falls short of meeting customer expectations, compared to 42% across all industries.
- The percentage of financial firms recognizing that their digital CX lags behind (50%) has almost doubled since 2022 (28%) instead of improving over time.
On the other hand, there are firms that are setting new standards in CX. These organizations are pushing boundaries, expanding beyond traditional financial advice into broader areas like physical, mental, and even environmental well-being.
Innovation adds more value to your customers - and your bottom line
Digital advancements are always evolving, and as we move further into the promising future, it’s evident that organizations across all sectors must elevate their customer experience (CX) efforts.
In the finance sector, both marketers and CX professionals agree that their companies need to deliver experiences that are more holistic, interconnected, and aligned with a customer's entire lifestyle. By doing so, they can avoid being reduced to mere transaction portals, which would make it easier for non-financial brands — like Amazon or other disruptors — to capture market share. However, achieving this balance will require a careful approach. Firms must continue to deliver high-quality existing services while simultaneously developing and launching new ones.
The pace of change shows no signs of slowing down. While 42% of financial marketing and CX leaders believe that customers still desire some level of human interaction, offering them the flexibility to choose their preferred channel of engagement will be crucial in 2023.
When it comes to self-service, staying ahead is becoming increasingly essential — even for handling complex requests. For instance, a bank might combine an AI-powered chatbot with a human advisor to assist customers with additional questions. Afterward, the customer could return to the chatbot environment to complete their task instead of finishing their journey with the human advisor.
The key takeaway is that true innovation thrives on persistence. To continue thriving in the financial industry, it’s vital to keep exploring new ways to enhance the experience and offer the best methods for your customers to interact with your organization.
The employee experience should revolve around an inspiring work environment
We believe that innovative ideas can originate from any part of the organization. Moreover, we hold the belief that great ideas should be encouraged to come from everyone, no matter where they are within the company.
With such a diverse and global array of perspectives, it's clear that prioritizing diversity and inclusion (D&I) brings significant advantages to business transformation. For example, focusing on D&I can enhance employees' feelings of belonging, which is crucial for retention. In fact, a Workday study found that 79% of employees who felt a strong sense of belonging had no intention of leaving their employer, compared to just 33% of those who did not.
It's widely understood that surrounding yourself with people who think alike can lead to a narrow range of ideas. By bringing together a more diverse group of talent, you can create a vibrant community that drives incredible, innovative outcomes.
Pairing this diversity with a robust content workflow ensures you're positioned for lasting success. After all, having a diverse team is only valuable if everyone has the opportunity to be heard. By establishing efficient workflows, you enable diverse voices to be expressed, allowing you to reach a broader audience and amplify your impact.
Financial institutions are increasingly equipping their teams with the right technology to enhance productivity. Currently, 31% report having access to user-friendly applications that seamlessly integrate with other tools, while 39% describe their integration methods as merely average.
However, many firms continue to face challenges when it comes to execution. Only 28% are capable of efficiently delivering content by quickly providing assets, automating processes, using data to personalize content, and effectively tracking insights.
Moreover, this percentage drops even further to 22% when considering firms that excel at producing and streamlining content in a way that reduces rework, eliminates duplicated efforts, and minimizes administrative tasks.
In summary, while financial firms are making strides in improving their operations, there's still significant room for growth, particularly in enhancing the overall employee experience.
Process is the key to a future-proof, agile financial industry
Just like in any other industry, the financial sector has evolved into a truly omnichannel experience for customers. Whether individuals prefer visiting physical branches or engaging through digital and mobile channels, one fact remains clear — every customer will interact with your organization through multiple touchpoints during their journey. This necessitates a seamless and cohesive experience that connects across all stages.
Despite the need for such integrated experiences, many financial organizations still face challenges in achieving this level of cohesion throughout their customer interactions.
Without a central platform, various disconnected solutions — such as CRM systems, data centers, and content and workflow automation tools — can lead to departmental silos and exacerbate existing issues.
Many financial marketing and CX professionals face the risk of fragmented customer experiences, as 51% rely on multiple technologies or vendors for managing customer experiences without a unified system. This leaves 49% with some form of CX platform, but only 37% of these platforms are cloud-based.
There is significant potential for improvement in this area.
A unified platform allows for streamlined customer data collection and management, making it easier to integrate with existing and future applications. It also enables the consolidation of insights and workflows from various channels, including call centers, email, social media, mobile, and web. This facilitates better team collaboration and supports large-scale personalization efforts.
Set your firm up for long-term success
Amid the pandemic-driven digital shift and the growing presence of fintechs and digital banks, customers are increasingly seeking more meaningful and digital-first financial interactions. To maintain and build stronger customer relationships, you need to provide experiences that are both impactful and personalized.
By enhancing your customer experiences, investing in your employee experience, and refining your processes, you can transform your firm and position it for long-term success.
