Technology for CX in Banking

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing customer service across various industries, including Banking. By harnessing the enormous potential of AI and the benefits of Machine Learning, banks can offer faster, more efficient services tailored to their customer’s diverse needs and preferences.

Customer expectations are rising and banks need to keep up with this pace through more personalized strategies. Customers now have more channels for their convenience. However, in many cases, these channels are siloed and disconnected resulting in duplication, frustration and decreased customer satisfaction (CSAT). The effective integration of channels into one seamless whole could be a major differentiator for banks which can thrive on the measure of customer centricity and satisfaction.

Providing a diversity of channels (chatbots, social media, SMS, email, or phone) is enabled through a cloud-based Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solutions. But these need to be well-integrated with CRM database in order to eliminate a lack of context. One of the necessary requirements for CCaaS solutions is up-to-date, high-quality data and this can often be found in CRM tools.

Meeting customer expectations can be simplified by capturing and utilizing data for operational insights. This means that data cannot be stored in separate silos, and banks may need to invest in technologies that enable the collection, processing and storage of data. Leading banks are the ones who are able to leverage and analyze large amounts of real-time data to better understand their customers and create more personalized experiences.

Customers increasingly expect Personalization. The aim to provide personalization still tops the list of priorities in customer satisfaction. Customers increasingly expect banks to respect the urgency of their enquiry and to know the history of their interactions with them. The support system then – whether automated or in person – should know the details of the current interaction, as well as a customer’s past interactions with the bank.
Demonstrating understanding and providing personalized answers will inspire loyalty among customers by saving time and showing professionalism. This personalization will rely on effective data strategies to strengthen personal bonds with customers.

The most important aspect of customer service is to know and understand our customers – who they are, what they expect, what they need, which channels they prefer and how they behave. Not only can data answer all of these important issues, it provides insight into customers’ behaviours and perspectives, shedding light on successes and mistakes in customer outreach.

Advancing technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) will also enhance personalization. Through these technologies, chatbots can comprehend and communicate, while sentiment analysis can reveal customers’ moods. AI tools, based on the right data, also help agents to raise their performance and engagement, enabling them to deliver an exceptional, personalized CX. The human touch is a requirement for superior customer experience (CX) that will not disappear with the addition of digital self-service channels. In fact, the focus will be on making digital experiences more human.

What Banks need is a seamless mix of human and digital interactions. The combination of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in combination with the human touch, is helping raise performance and increase capabilities.
How Banks are Transforming CX:

There are many use cases that enhance CX in banking across customer onboarding, lending, transactions, and payments. We see our banking customers focus on three areas:
Predicting customer needs
Innovation in customer service
Integrated financial solutions
Customers continue to expect their banks to understand their specific situation and provide them with personalized solutions/offerings.
Artificial intelligence in the BFSI CX

AI can enhance the customer experience by making engagements with banks more automated, intelligent, fast and hassle free. Solutions such as chatbots, voice assistants, etc. can be used across multiple channels, such as websites, mobile apps, physical interaction and customer support.

AI enhances customer service: Automated AI powered customer service representatives gather the data from the user’s devices and process it through machine learning to provide relevant information. It is then easier to show offers, services, and insights which are in line with the user’s behavior. Banks can mine the financial transaction data to better monitor, predict and respond to consumer behavior. The rising demand for online banking and financial information offerings has created opportunities for AI implementation in India’s banking sector.

According to Business Insider, the three main channels where banks use artificial intelligence for cost-saving are front office or conversational banking, middle office or anti-fraud and back office or better known as underwriting. Front and middle office applications offer the greatest cost saving opportunities across banks.
At the front end, AI smoothens customer identification and authentication through chat bots and voice assistants. AI is also being implemented by banks within middle office functions to detect and prevent payment frauds and to improve anti money laundering and KYC checks. It can be used in the back office to provide business and strategy insights, simplifying the backend process and for regulatory compliance.
AI enhances customer service: Automated AI powered customer service representatives gather the data from the user’s devices and process it through machine learning to provide relevant information. It is easier to show offers, services, and insights which are in line with the user’s behavior.

AI provides business and strategy insights: AI technology has the potential to analyze and process large amounts of data to drive informed decision making. Based on assessment of data trends using AI, banks can devise strategies to boost growth. Additionally, transaction data mining of digital payments (including transaction insights, searches and needs) can help in deriving actionable insights.

New technology advances have given banks access to exponentially more data about what customers do and want. It is an amazing opportunity for banks to use analytics to unlock the goldmine of information to cater to their customers.
In the immense realm of customer experience, everything begins with data – Who are our customers? Do they matter to our business? What are their unique traits? What sort of behavior are we getting from them? Obtaining a complete picture of customers’ activities is essential in understanding their needs. Algorithms based on AI and ML are increasingly being used in data gathering, processing the fragmented data streams from various sources, and cleaning them against the live data.

Predictive Trends and Personalization: Artificial Intelligence transforms the customer experience by anticipating and making predictions on customers’ preferences of where what, and when they will buy.
Using Augmented AI Analytics, banks can develop customer profiles, generate real-time insights, and customize the marketing-mix strategy for individual customers to improve their sales funnel.

Targeted Marketing

Every customer wants to feel valued. Most marketers think personalized content is more effective in reaching customers. Using ML algorithms, companies can analyze their customer behavior to strategize a campaign targeting the right message to the right audience. Many digital touchpoints, including social media channels, mobile apps, and website visits, can all be injected as data sets of ML algorithms to learn more about customer interactions and past activities. This will help companies predict which touch base is most valuable to them.
Today, customers need experience. Machines, simulated with human intelligence, promise to deliver highly personalized experiences while trying to minimize costs. Artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions can help Banks optimize their customer experiences-from data quality to customized recommendations for customer acquisition and retention. In today’s fast-paced economy, the highest level of customer service is essential for banks to stay ahead. Happy customers are not only more likely to stay but are also likely to share their great experiences and explore more of the bank’s offerings. It is time for banks to adopt state-of-the-art technology to keep up with customer expectations and constantly evolve.