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The financial services industry stands at a crossroads, with digital capabilities, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), reshaping the landscape. This transformation, accelerated by rapidly evolving consumer needs, is pushing banks to streamline operations and offer new, innovative ways for their customers to engage.
But this rapid digitization raises a significant concern: Has the AI evolution led to the erosion of authentic, human-led customer experiences?
As banks increasingly integrate digital solutions into their operations, to both lower their cost-to-serve and increase customer loyalty, it’s imperative to address three key areas:
There’s indispensable value of human interaction in banking
Face-to-face or over-the-phone interaction in banking is not just a preference; it’s often a necessity. Complex or sensitive transactions, like wealth management, estate planning, or resolving financial disputes, require a level of empathy, understanding and personal judgment that AI cannot replicate.
Financial advisors and bankers, as a result, play a crucial role in interpreting customers’ emotional states, understanding their life situations, and providing tailored advice that resonates on a personal level.
In moments of financial distress or uncertainty, the presence of a compassionate employee can be the difference between a customer feeling heard and supported or feeling like just another number. For instance, if a customer is in the unfortunate position of going through a mortgage foreclosure, they need a person to help and support them; this would not be the ideal time to connect them with a chatbot.
Maximize personalization through customer-journey insight
True personalization goes beyond algorithms and involves using customer insights to inform human interactions. If you’re just measuring the experience at the relationship level, or after a specific transaction, you’re creating a narrow understanding of the full journey.
By leveraging journey-analytics capabilities, and connecting offline and online experiences, you can create a 360-degree view of the experience and minimize your reliance on surveys. Even revamping your Voice of the Customer program to be more journey focused versus transactional can completely change your understanding and drive new insights across the bank.
Technology exists today that can identify customer intent in a digital experience and when the frustrated customer calls the contact center, the customer service representative is empowered with “next-best-conversation” insights that help them to personalize the call.
This type of capability also has the added benefit of reducing average handling time and can help the contact center agent deescalate a situation that could otherwise end up as a formal complaint that gets reported to regulators. When multiple parties in the trade benefit, value is maximized.
Strike the right balance in technology-enhancing customer experiences
Banks need to ensure that technology augments human interaction, not diminish it. For example, AI can be used to predict customer needs or flag potential issues, but the final interaction might need to be human led. This approach ensures that customers benefit from the efficiency of technology while still enjoying the personal touch that only a well-trained team member can provide.
While banks can get wrapped up in the benefits of digital solutions, the execution plans, and the armies of people required to deliver these solutions, organizations sometimes forget the importance of communication. Transparently communicating the “how” and “why” behind the use of digital and automated tools requires very little technology after all. The objective is to build trust and manage customer expectations by providing clear, honest and straightforward information.
By explaining the capabilities you’ve employed, including any potential limitations of automated systems, customers can gain a clear understanding of what to expect, reducing friction in the process. Moreover, open communication can encourage customers to provide feedback more regularly, which is critical for product owners to improve digital solutions and drive more engagement.
Create sustainable processes for lasting impact
Continuous staff training and development in banks, especially in the context of evolving digital tools, is critical in striking the right balance between digital and human-led experiences.
Training programs must include technical education about new digital tools and platforms. Employees need to be comfortable with, and knowledgeable about, the latest technologies that the bank employs, or that are available to their customers. Given the rapid evolution of technology, this training should be an ongoing process, with regular updates as new technologies, or best practices, are introduced.
Additionally, soft-skills training is equally important. Employees should be trained in areas such as emotional intelligence, effective communication and empathy. These skills are crucial for human interactions. As technology takes on more responsibility in the workplace for routine transactions, soft skills at the frontline will be imperative for driving long-term loyalty.
By adopting a comprehensive change management approach to include staff training and development, banks can ensure that their employees are well-equipped to integrate digital tools into personalized customer interactions, maintaining a high standard of service in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
In short, the optimal path for the financial services industry is a blend of digital innovation and human empathy, not just driving everyone to a digital channel. As banks continue to evolve and grow in this post-digital era, and into the AI era, prioritizing the human element in customer experiences will be key to maintaining trust and loyalty over the long term.
Bill Staikos is senior vice president, executive advisory, at Medallia.
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