9 Tips for Creating Omnichannel Financial Experiences Customers Can Bank On

Today’s financial transactions look vastly different than they did five years ago. Banks, insurers, and other institutions are closing their physical locations and pivoting to online services. Fewer customers are engaging in person with bank tellers or insurance advisors. Instead, they use financial technology (fintech) apps to manage their money.

While the new financial experience may involve fewer person-to-person interactions, clients still expect high levels of personalization. Whether navigating an insurance claim or opening a savings account, clients will only truly engage with companies that deliver an exceptional customer experience (CX).

Financial services CX encompasses every customer interaction with an institution on every platform. While this used to happen over a desk or a counter primarily, the new omnichannel CX includes apps, embedded finance, online systems, digital communications, and contact centers – any way users access their services. The better a customer’s experience at every touchpoint, the more likely they are to trust that company with their finances.

From their initial deposit to their many investment milestones, here are nine tips for creating a better experience that your customers will know they can bank on.

1. Create an Engaging Customer Journey

Your company’s success hinges on creating a positive, omnichannel customer experience. Each client’s financial journey is different, and it’s your job to keep them engaged at all touchpoints from start to finish. Customers will become frustrated and lose interest if they start a conversation about a claim with a chatbot and must repeat their query when transferred to a live agent. AI-powered chatbots integrated with the contact center will determine the most common paths customers take, whether there are any issues they encounter, and how to personalize each interaction for seamless experiences.

2. Build Trust with Digital-first Customers

Digital money management can be daunting for new customers, especially if they are unfamiliar with your brand. Earning client trust can be challenging, but there are ways to make them feel more comfortable using your products. Center your company’s mission and values with consistent messaging and back it up with your services. Clients are concerned about the security of their transactions, so be transparent with your compliance and data privacy policies.

3. Prioritize Self-service

Currently, most transactions originate digitally, with customers accessing self-service portals or making payments through embedded financial technology. Online transactions like trades or transfers are automated and fast. They generally require little intervention from human agents, making them efficient for the client and cost-effective for the financial institution.

4. Add a Human Touch

In an era where customer interactions are limited, each point of human-to-human contact is valuable. When self-service and AI can’t solve an issue, it’s up to the human agent to step in and provide exceptional customer service. Empower agents with up-to-date information about the client’s history to easily step into the conversation for personalized, empathetic support.

See how TrueStone Financial Credit Union provides great CX >

5. Create Connections Between Customers and Employees

Clients will feel more comfortable knowing their money is in the hands of knowledgeable, dependable financial employees, so make sure the transition between self-service and live agent assistance is seamless. Ensuring contact center agents are always available via phone or chat and equipped with top-of-the-line communications solutions leads to faster resolution rates and happier customers.

6. Create Connections Between Customers and Employees

Outstanding customer service is built on exceptional employee experience (EX), and happier employees lead to positive results. Build a CX- and EX-focused company culture and retain top talent with unified communications solutions like AI-assisted agent support for dynamic real-time responses and work-from-anywhere technology. Employees will feel empowered to handle difficult situations, and customers will feel confident in their care.

7. Optimize Your Workforce

Human capital is the most valuable – and one of the most expensive – elements of running an organization. Finding the right balance of automated solutions and human expertise can help manage budgetary concerns while improving employee and customer satisfaction. Automated workforce management technology uses analytics to track times of peak demand, creating strategic schedules for flexible, efficient contact center staffing.

8. Collect Valuable Feedback

Today’s digital-first customers quickly tap a thumbs-up or thumbs-down icon, but gathering meaningful feedback is essential in providing high-quality financial experiences. Whether it’s a satisfaction survey at the end of a call or a net promoter score after an online chat, give customers a chance to share their thoughts. Their insight can identify pain points and lead to CX improvements you hadn’t considered.

9. Continuously Analyze and Adjust Your Approach

Take a page from fintech startups and use an iterative approach to your CX. In addition to learning from direct feedback, companies can use AI analytics and machine learning to improve customer interactions. AI-powered chatbots can coach human agents in real-time, ensuring interactions with customers are efficient and on-brand for the institution. AI technologies can also interpret data and provide insights into why customers are contacting you and how you can improve your product and service offerings. All data can be used to improve your services the next time around.

Improve Financial Services CX with Mitel

The pivot to online financial services is an opportunity for traditional banks, insurers, and other institutions to provide new levels of exceptional customer experiences. Omnichannel unified communications solutions put seamless, efficient self-service at users’ fingertips and give them personalized support when needed on the customer’s channel of choice.

Mitel’s innovative financial services communications solutions increase profitability, empower employees, and improve customer satisfaction. From AI-powered self-service chatbots to agent assistants and intelligent analytics, Mitel’s unified communications tools add value to your CX and differentiate your services from the fintech crowd.