# Doing nothing is not an option when it comes to the customer experience
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2018-05-29
Category: BANKING
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking
Meta Title: Enhancing Customer Engagement in the Financial Sector
Meta Description: Discover how banks and insurance companies can improve customer relationships through personalised experiences and efficient feedback analysis.
URL: https://financedigest.com/doing-nothing-is-not-an-option-when-it-comes-to-the-customer-experiencehtml

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By **Fabrice Martin,** Chief Product Officer **,** [**Clarabridge**](http://www.clarabridge.com)

When was the last time you visited your bank or building society? Probably not very recently. Digital transformation has seen to it that given a combination of online, mobile and telephone banking, customers are more than happy to spend, manage and invest their money without the need to set foot in a brick-and-mortar bank.

Many branches are closing and banks are realising considerable economic savings, but it does beg the question, at what price to the customer relationship? Of course, regular face-to-face interaction is on the wane, but as customer relationships with banks have become more transactional, now is the time to [move the focus away](https://www.financedigest.com/exclusive-eu-to-move-away-from-emergency-phase-of-covid-pandemic-document.html "Exclusive-EU to move away from emergency phase of COVID pandemic – document") from cost reduction towards proactive, experience enhancement.

This is not just particular to banks. The entire financial [services industry](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-services-industry-blazes-the-trail-for-cloud-migration-post-pandemic.html "Financial services industry blazes the trail for cloud migration post-pandemic") has undergone massive change in recent years. This is, in part, due to the financial crisis which necessitated a seismic shift in transparency and [trust building](https://www.financedigest.com/epi-how-to-build-trust-and-adoption-among-consumers-and-merchants.html "EPI: How to build trust and adoption among consumers and merchants"). Understandably customers are wary, questioning whether the financial sector always has their best interests at heart, and the propensity to switch [bank accounts](https://www.financedigest.com/scams-avoided-how-to-prevent-bank-account-scams-in-2023.html "Scams Avoided: How to Prevent Bank Account Scams in 2023"), or move from one insurance company to another on a regular basis just demonstrates that their loyalty is being tested.

The financial [services sector](https://www.financedigest.com/the-state-of-cybersecurity-in-todays-financial-services-sector.html "The state of cybersecurity in today’s financial services sector") knows this. It realises that the ball is in its court to shape up and put processes in place that actually [meet the evolving requirements of customers](https://www.financedigest.com/meeting-customers-where-they-are-through-financial-inclusion-and-hyper-personalization.html "Meeting Customers “Where They Are” Through Financial Inclusion and Hyper-Personalization"). Many banks and [insurance companies are aware](https://www.financedigest.com/being-aware-of-the-insurance-blind-spot-when-it-comes-to-driverless-cars.html "Being aware of the insurance blind spot when it comes to driverless cars") that those customers want highly personalised, responsive experiences.  They want their questions and complaints dealt with quickly and efficiently and they definitely want to engage at a time and using a channel that suits them and their lifestyle. The priority for insurers and banks, therefore, is to do everything in their [power to enhance the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/ai-will-power-95-of-customer-interactions-by-2025.html "AI will power 95% of customer interactions by 2025") journey through better engagement from the moment that an account is opened to the development of that relationship into the future.

What they also understand is that it is absolutely in their best interests to do this. Ensuring customers are satisfied will nurture their long-term loyalty, but it also delivers up-sell and cross-sell opportunities and [drives profitability](https://www.financedigest.com/philips-to-cut-13-of-jobs-in-safety-and-profitability-drive.html "Philips to cut 13% of jobs in safety and profitability drive").

But the landscape these days is different, which makes [customer engagement](https://www.financedigest.com/chatbots-the-secret-weapon-to-customer-engagement.html "Chatbots: The secret weapon to customer engagement?") a challenge.  Not all companies in the financial [sector](https://www.financedigest.com/the-technologies-set-to-boost-the-finance-sector-in-2022.html "The technologies set to boost the finance sector in 2022") have the tools in place yet to be able to effectively listen to and analyse client feedback despite the fact that customers constantly comment on the service they are receiving, both positively and negatively, and across many different channels, on many different topics. In fact, financial [sector](https://www.financedigest.com/the-importance-of-role-models-and-policy-in-encouraging-more-women-to-pursue-careers-in-the-finance-sector.html "The importance of role models and policy in encouraging more women to pursue careers in the finance sector") organisations often proactively ask them for feedback. What is needed is the ability to analyse that feedback by integrating it into a single platform where it can be analysed and correctly understood, whether it comes from contact centre agent notes, emails, surveys, [social media](https://www.financedigest.com/elon-musk-goes-viral-on-chinese-social-media-with-ancient-poem-post.html "Elon Musk goes viral on Chinese social media with ancient poem post") or live chats. Some organisations already use platforms, such as CRM, to help them manage [customer relationships, but unless those platforms can collate, analyse and prioritise feedback, they are not useful when developing strategies for improving the customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/insurers-ready-to-fight-back-against-poor-customer-experience.html "Insurers ready to fight back against poor customer experience").

Customer satisfaction metrics are one way to judge the success of customer engagement. One of the most popular metrics is the Net Promoter Score or [NPS\[1\],](https://www.clarabridge.com/net-promoter-score/) that enables organisations to assess and benchmark the satisfaction of their customers. The metric assumes customers can be divided into either promoters, detractors or passives based on their response to the question ‘on a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this [company’s product](https://www.financedigest.com/north-america-wound-debridement-products-market-2021-global-leading-companies-analysis-revenue-trends-and-forecasts-2024.html "North America Wound Debridement Products Market 2021 Global Leading Companies Analysis, Revenue, Trends and Forecasts 2024") or service to a friend or colleague’. The results are calculated into a score.

NPS does give an understanding of the [customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/is-your-customer-experience-exceptional.html "IS YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE EXCEPTIONAL?"), but it has two critical shortcomings: the first is that it relies exclusively on survey responses and the second is that it does not offer a holistic view of the customer experience. [Surveys are often used as the barometer of customer sentiment](https://www.financedigest.com/european-stocks-slip-on-dour-german-sentiment-survey-ahead-of-powell-speech.html "European stocks slip on dour German sentiment survey ahead of Powell speech"), but the fact is that response rates are down because customers have survey fatigue. Too many surveys are long and complicated, but even amongst those customers that do respond, traditional methods [don’t necessarily](https://www.financedigest.com/spiralling-azure-costs-dont-necessarily-mean-your-cloud-strategy-is-off-course.html "Spiralling Azure costs don’t necessarily mean your cloud strategy is off course") produce the intelligence that companies are looking for. Either the questions are [limited so customers](https://www.financedigest.com/natwest-limits-customers-crypto-transfers-citing-scam-concerns.html "NatWest limits customers’ crypto transfers, citing scam concerns") are unable to provide a comprehensive view, or they are unable to remember exactly what happened and how they felt about it.

Financial services organisations really need a more holistic view of their entire customer’s journey, with analytics based on customer feedback from every single touchpoint, that [shed a light](https://www.financedigest.com/below-a-pyramid-a-treasure-trove-sheds-new-light-on-ancient-mexican-rites.html "Below a pyramid, a treasure trove sheds new light on ancient Mexican rites") on how those customers choose to engage, what they are trying to achieve and where there are tension points that need addressing.

This is where customer experience (CX) solutions come in. They help [companies to collate data from multiple sources ranging from social media](https://www.financedigest.com/top-social-media-growth-companies-in-the-uk.html "Top Social Media Growth Companies in the UK") commentary through to recorded conversations with contact centre agents. The smallest detail can often reveal findings that make a huge difference to [business strategy](https://www.financedigest.com/fortified-dairy-products-market-outlook-cover-new-business-strategy-with-upcoming-opportunity-2022-to-2032.html "Fortified Dairy Products Market Outlook Cover New Business Strategy with Upcoming Opportunity 2022 to 2032"), and as the data accumulates across all of these channels it gives companies the opportunity to see their customers through a different lens.

CX solutions also gather both quantitative and qualitative data. A bank or [insurance company will need to know when an account or policy](https://www.financedigest.com/what-type-of-life-insurance-policy-is-right-for-me.html "What Type of Life Insurance Policy Is Right For Me?") started and certain personal information about their customer, but this needs to be combined with qualitative feedback including the unstructured voice of the customer. To do this, CX solutions useText Analytics or Natural Language Processing ( [NLP](https://www.clarabridge.com/nlp-natural-language-processing/)) technology, which extracts information and meaning from unstructured data such as a product review or a transcribed call and transforms it into something that can be analysed. Quantitative data reveals that a company’s [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/transforming-to-customer-centric-service-in-financial-services.html "Transforming to customer centric service in Financial Services") rating is 6 out of 10, and qualitative data outlines why, and allows issues to be addressed with accurate information.

With this information, financial [services companies](https://www.financedigest.com/sterilization-services-market-global-leading-companies-analysis-revenue-trends-and-forecasts-2027.html "Sterilization Services Market Global Leading Companies Analysis, Revenue, Trends and Forecasts 2027") are well equipped to enhance the touchpoints on the customer’s journey. These might include researching new policies, applying, paying for and receiving policy documents. Customer sentiment can also be assessed at each stage with charts that identify moments of positive and negative sentiment.CX [solutions include tools that help to categorise and quantify customer emotions and the level of effort they exert when interacting with the company and its services](https://www.financedigest.com/becoming-more-than-a-bank-adding-value-through-financial-solutions-as-a-service.html "Becoming more than a bank: adding value through financial solutions as-a-service"). This provides clues that enable [finance companies to really understand](https://www.financedigest.com/understanding-company-debt-finance.html "Understanding company debt finance") the impact they are having. The data can also be [shared across departments enabling business influencers and decision makers](https://www.financedigest.com/sports-nutrition-market-share-revenue-and-average-worth-by-makers-shared-in-an-exceedingly-latest-analysis-report.html "Sports Nutrition Market SHARE, REVENUE, AND AVERAGE WORTH BY MAKERS SHARED IN AN EXCEEDINGLY LATEST ANALYSIS REPORT") to implement changes and improvements.

[Customer experience analytics](https://www.clarabridge.com/cx-analytics/) provide insights that lead to better financial products and services, and they help to equip and empower front-line staff. This can have a transformative effect on [customer experience and engender loyalty and will fully reinforce a customer-first strategy](https://www.financedigest.com/why-equipment-assets-should-be-the-source-of-your-customer-strategy.html "Why Equipment Assets Should Be The Source of Your Customer Strategy").

[\[1\]](#_ftnref1) _Net Promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld”_”


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