IntelliResponse White Paper Customer Experience and Financial Services

Customer Experience Management and the Financial Services Provider A Blueprint for Online & Multi-Channel Engagement

In today’s highly commoditized financial services industry, there is no margin for error when it comes to attracting and retaining high-value customers. Firms must now offer more channels of communication, more customer options, and faster responses than ever before.

IR KnOwlEdgE SERIES August 2009

This knowledge paper examines and explores the key elements that will allow financial services providers of all types to continue to evolve their approach to addressing the questions and concerns of their unique customer base. Perhaps now more than ever, one of the best ways to differentiate your institution in the financial services industry is through exceptional customer service, beginning with your contact center and web properties, and extending out to include assisted channels, mobile and new media as part of a next generation, multi-channel approach to managing the customer experience.

Whether the journey begins on a smartphone, via a new social media channel, directly on your corporate web site, or via a direct call to your contact center, best practices demand speed, consistency and a truly uniformed approach to managing customer interaction.

The Web as the Lynchpin of a Multi-Channel Customer ExperienceTo say that the web has become an important tool for customer interaction would be more than just a “minor” understatement. The financial services industry is facing a veritable explosion in the number of online customer service interactions over the coming years. Due to the increased convenience, independence, speed and value of the Internet, consumers of all ages are continuing to use the web as their primary conduit to banking, credit card, insurance, brokerage and virtually every other type of financial service.

In fact, Forrester Research predicts that 92 million, or 76% of all U.S. households are expected to engaged in financial service interactions online by 2011.i And this move online is no longer unique to the younger generation. According to recent research from HSBC, while 62% of people ages 21 to 34 conduct the majority of their banking online, approximately 40% of Americans ages 45 to 69 are now doing most or all of their banking online as well.ii

The power of the web has also extended its reach to include mobile technology that allows financial services customers to engage with their providers wherever and whenever they choose. According to ForSee Results and Forbes.com, 27% of online investors with mobile phones use them to access investment web sites.iii

For most if not all financial services institutions, increasing customer satisfaction online is just good business. Not only do such solutions and strategies promote a seamless, multi-channel experience for the customer, they also provide the institution with the ability to improve both overall loyalty and bottom line savings by moving customers to the most cost effective service channel.

The web sites of financial service firms of all types have a fairly large impact on the overall success of the entire firm. Investment firms for example, typically find that their customers use the web more than perhaps any other channel, so it’s critical that the experience be productive and in line with expectations. Even credit card providers, who are typically seen as a commodity solution, can and should strive to differentiate themselves on service that, more often than not, involves the web at some point during any sales or service engagement.

Satisfied online customers are more profitable, more loyal, and more likely to engage in positive word of mouth, and if they increase their use of the web site for informational and transactional service, cost savings increase through the value of right-channeling.

1Customer Experience Management and the Financial Services Provider A Blueprint for Online & Multi-Channel Engagement

Consumers of all ages are

continuing to use the web as

their primary conduit to banking,

credit card, insurance, brokerage

and virtually every other type of

financial service.

2

With Opportunity comes Challenge: the Multi-Channel RealityThe picture is not all rosy however. As more and more transactions, sales and service interactions in the financial services industry continue to involve on the Web, your firm’s opportunity to influence customer perceptions about brand, net promoter score, loyalty and advocacy increasingly begins online. The new reality now demands that organizations of all types provide rapid, concise information to customers across a variety of self-service and assisted channels, and this can be a daunting mandate.

The financial services industry has been widely recognized as a leader in customer experience management for good reason, with retail banks in particular being lauded as pioneers in creating new and innovative ways to manage the customer experience in the emerging multi-channel environment. Much of this progress has been built on gaining insight into customer value and then leveraging this information by tapping in to the unique insights that are sometimes only available via online interactions.

That said, many financial services web sites are not designed using a customer centric process and as a consequence users cannot find relevant content and information quickly. In addition, many financial services providers are not able to provide a truly consistent experience across multiple channels during any given inquiry process. For example, providing customers with the ability to seamlessly transition between online and offline (self-service and assisted channels) is often non-existent for many financial services firms. The resulting frustration causes consumers to either leave and go to a competitor’s web site or re-connect in a more expensive channel – such as email, phone or to a branch for example.

Online, the Status Quo does not Suffice

Damaging Effects of POOR SITE DESIGN Although the online growth trends for financial services firms continue to trend upward, and multi-channel customer experience has taken on a new meaning in recent years, many web sites are not designed with a clear customer focused approach and as a result struggle with navigational elements, layout, content that reads as collateral, site depth and complexity, static FAQ’s, and the ubiquitous site search that returns numerous links. In addition, many firms offer a ‘disjointed’ customer experience across assisted and self-serve channels, with information flow in the contact center often lacking continuity to web interaction.

A recent Jupiter Consulting survey revealed that 54% of consumers visiting a web site came looking for product and/or service information, 45% came to do an online bank transaction and 23% needed contact information.iv

Once on the site, a third of customers had a difficult time finding the information they were looking for, and the top three reasons that customers leave sites early are directly linked to poor site design and service flaws (see Figure 1 next page). Site Search and FAQ’s Prove InadequateMost corporate search platforms often do little to help the situation. Approximately 63% of consumers continue to be frustrated with web site search because it cannot understand the real question and 57% believe search results are not related to their specific topic of interest.v As most of us know from experience, web site users who utilize search often have to hunt and peck through large numbers of possible links to find answers buried somewhere in the detailed content of search results.

Static FAQ systems, the other pervasive alternative, only deal with a subset of questions and require visitors to “find a question”. Many self-service solutions today lack relevance, speed and accuracy. Research indicates that approximately 47% of customers are looking for a faster navigation path and 33% want a tool to provide a single accurate response or advanced FAQ (see Figure 2 next page).

Many financial service providers

are not able to provide a truly

consistent experience across

multiple channels during any

given inquiry process.


47%

36%

33%

33%

30%

13%

13%

12%

8%

5%

2%

3

Figure 2

Effective Navigation Tools Resonate with Site Visitors

Percentage of Site Visitors

Ability to easily navigate from home page and find what I seek

The ability to send an e-mail to customer service

Frequently Aked Questions (FAQ) web page

Question box that enables you to enter a question and get a single, accurate answer

Search tool that offers a list of search results

Text-based online chat

Call back option, where I enter my information and phone number and customer service calls me back

A link to information About US that is easily found

none of these would be helpful

The ability to make a phone call to the company via my PC, cllicking a button and talking through my computer’s microphone (VoIP)

Other

100%0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

47% of customers are looking for a faster

navigation path and 33% want a tool to provide a single

accurate response or advanced FAQ.

Figure 1

Site Visitor Frustration Can Lead to Devastating Results: Lost Sales and/or Tarnished Brands

Percentage of Site Visitors

leave the website and go to a competitive website

Be less likely to visit the site again

Be less likely to buy from them online

leave the website and give up

Contact customer service via e-mail

Have a more negative overall perception of the company

Contact customer service via phone phone regarding my experience

Be less likely to buy from them offline

Tell others about my negative experience

I have never been dissatisfied

Question: If you find yourself dissatisfied with your ability to find the necessary information you sought when first arriving on a website or a specific product/service page, which of the following are you likely to do? (Select all that apply) Select responses shown.

45%

45%

40%

24%

24%

21%

18%

18%

16%

4%

100%0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Site visitors are more likely to opt for

an alternative site than both to contact customer service.


Financial Services Customers are Goal OrientedCustomers come to interact with financial services web sites and service agents armed with a goal in mind, and usually they have a specific context associated to their visit or inquiry. We can group these key objectives into three major categories: DO, BUY or ASK. The definition and an example of each of these three categories are as follows:

1. DO: Involves the desire to perform a task that leads to the customer engaging in an assisted or self-service transaction online or started online and concluded in another channel.

Example: DO (Goal Oriented) – when a customer wants to transfer funds from a savings account to a 401K. During this process a customer may have a simple question which can be phrased in numerous different ways:

• Whatisthemaximumamountofmoney I can transfer to my 401K?

• HowmuchmoneycanImovetoa401K? • Whatarethe401Klimitations? • HowdoItransferfundstomyretirement

account and what is the ceiling?

2. BUY: Involves any task related to the intendedand/or final purchase of a product or service – thismay start and conclude online or in anotherchannel, and often requires multiple channels tocomplete the process.

Example: BUY (Goal Oriented) – when a customer wants to acquire a new Visa travel rewards card. During this process the customer may have a question which can be stated in many ways, for example:

• HowdoIapply? • CanIapplyonlineforaVisacard? • WhatdoIneedtoapplyforarewardcard? • WherecanIapplyforaVisatravelcard?

3. ASK: Relates to customers seeking assistance tocorrect or rectify a customer service problem – oftencaused by a failure to meet customer needs andexpectations in the DO and BUY categories.

Example: ASK (Goal Oriented) - a customer has a dispute with the timing of a bill payment made online. A customer may have the following ways of asking the same question: • CanIreportabillpaymentproblemonline? • HowdoIreportabillpaymentissue? • HowdoIcorrectabillingerror? • WhatactionshouldItaketocorrecta

payment problem online?

The DO, BUY and ASK goal categories help us understand that there is a solid link between customer intention and customer action, often in the form of a question or search for information. More importantly we learn that while there is often only one common destination or piece of information that will allow customers to achieve their goal, they often travel down a number of disparate paths to get there.


The Expanding Interaction Ecosystem

Assisted and Self-ServiceThere is a lot of confusion surrounding the key channels and interaction points that can most effectively influence the customer experience. For many financial services firms, both the web and the contact center must now deploy a variety of strategies and technologies in order to service their multi-channel customer base. Defining the key elements of an effective customer interaction ecosystem will help bring some clarity to the situation.

Most customer interaction platforms (see Figure 3) require the capability to manage customer queries across two primary sub-categories:

1. Assisted Service – Assisted-service provides orenables human interaction with customers via phoneor face-to-face interaction as well as the Internet (email,chat or click-to-call). This type of service is generallybest suited to the sort of complex, multi-facetedinteraction that can best be executed by trainedcustomer interaction personnel.

2. Self-Service – Self-service solutions offer support via electronic means and allow customers to access information quickly, or perform simpletransactions, often over the Internet. Self-servicesolutions can include status quo offerings such as sitesearch or FAQ’s, or next generation solutions such as virtual assistants or instant answer agents.

Part of the role of self-service is to transition qualifiedsales and service leads to the most appropriateassisted-service channels. It is worth noting thatemployees and call center agents also have self-serviceneeds that functions within the contact center,branch platforms or Intranet.

5

Figure 3

Customer Interaction Ecosystem

Self-Service Assisted Service

Support

CrossChannel

Internet

• Search• Contact Us / Ask Us• FAQ• Virtual Assistant• Instant Answers• Help• Web Content• Databases• Secure site• Applications, Tools and Calculators

Contact Center

• Agents• Email• Click-to-chat• Click-to-talk• Collaborative browsing• Lead Generation• Call Center Platform• Enterprise Platform• CRM Platform• Virtual Assistant• Instant Answers

Intranet

• Search• Ask Us• FAQ• Virtual Assistant• Instant Answers• Help• Content• Databases


The Right Channel – The Right Time

Customers want the option to be able to transition easily from self-service to human assistance (via email, click-to-chat and click-to-call, etc.) to get help and advice for more complex products, services and transactions. Ideally, this should and can be accomplished in a single session with no loss of context or information. For a financial services firm, the goal is seamless cross-channel information delivery. For the firm’s customers, this translates into a positive customer experience.

A positive cross-channel experience increases the ability to achieve first contact resolution. Understanding early stage web activity, customer queries or online information requests can allow firms to segment customers and move those identified as key prospective customers quickly to a seamless cross-channel experience to complete the sales or service interaction that much quicker.

Most financial services firms are nothing if not multi-channel businesses, and as such they must address their customers’ needs as they progress through their journey towards achieving their goals. Best practices demand that organizations be equipped to manage the customer experience via the preferred channel of the customer – whether it’s online via self-service, online via assisted service, or offline through a phone or in person.

For some financial services firms, this process can be hindered by silos of informational hierarchies – with marketing owning the web site, contact center owning many of the customer interactions and with neither communicating effectively with the other. Or, silos may exist with technology systems – each group has all the information but getting the information out to the customer is the roadblock.

The Road toward Next Generation Customer Experience CapabilitiesToday’s leading financial services firms should deploy both the technology and the customer engagement processes to allow them to:

•IdentifythecustomergoalActively and intelligently determine the customer goal by engaging them online (increasingly regarded as the seminal first point of customer interaction)

•Equipthecustomerwithaccesstoquick,consistentinformationProvide customers with an effective solution so that they may self-serve

•ConnectthecustomertoservicechannelsProvide a natural and consistent cross-channel escalation at the correct point in time relative to the product or service complexity

•ProvideconsistentanswersOffer consistent information and overall experience throughout the interaction, across multiple touch-points and interaction platforms, including emerging channels such as mobile text messaging and new social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook

6

A positive cross-channel

experience can substantially

increase First Contact

Resolution rates


6 Things You Can do nOw

1. Add Intelligent Self-Service OptionsIf you haven’t already, look towards addingintelligent self-service options such as a virtualassistant to your web site or mobile platformThese technologies are quickly becoming a keycomponent of the multi-channel customerexperience, and provide a number of strongbenefits, including:

• Makingiteasyandconvenientforcustomerstoget the right answer to many of their questions the first time, thereby increasing first contact resolution

• Allowingcustomerstotypetheirquestionandget an immediate, accurate answer, with a high degree of accuracy.

• Improvingkeymetricssuchasnetpromoter(CEI/CSI) score, brand and customer loyalty – while reducing re-connect costs and increasing sales/transactions

2. Overcome Silos of Information BottlenecksStrive to overcome silos of information “bottlenecks”so that information about the customer and statusof their inquiry is shared across different channels ( For example, a call center operator should notneed to ask the same questions that have alreadybeenanswered online)

3. Include Customer FeedbackIncorporate customer feedback opportunitiesat each touch point, including online and via assisted channels

4. Test and Test Again!“Test” your new technologies and processes withcustomers directly to confirm that they are “valued”by the customers that use them

5. Right-ChannelingMake sure you are channeling customers into theright information funnel through intelligentescalation. For example, it may make more senseto push certain inquiries to self-service, while“triaging” high value or high issue customers toassisted channels

6. Make Your Phone # AccessibleThe phone is not obsolete. Some customers willcome to your web site with the sole purpose offinding a phone number they can use to contactyou with – make sure that number is available to them

For More InformationFor more information on cost effective ways to enhance the customer experience at your organization contact:Mike [email protected]

About IntelliResponseIntelliResponse enhances the multi-channel customer experience for businesses and educational institutions via its Instant Answer Agent, a question-and-answer software platform that allows web site visitors and service agents to ask questions in natural language, and get the “One Right Answer”, regardless of the hundreds of ways the question may be asked.

This industry leading On Demand software platform is used by both consumers and contact center agents. With more than 200 live, customer- facing implementations answering 50 million+ questions with one right answer, IntelliResponse is the gold standard in first line customer experience management.

Some of the world’s most recognized corporate brands and higher education institutions trust their customer experience management needs to IntelliResponse - including ING Direct, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, Penn State University, The Ohio State University, University of British Columbia and Harvard University Extension School.

i US Online Banking, Five Year Forecast, 2007, Forrester Researchii HSBC Direct, 2008iii ForSee Results, Forbes.com, April, 2009iv Jupiter Research, 2008v Jupiter Research, 2008

Copyright © 2009, IntelliResponse Systems Inc. All rights reserved. The trademarks identified herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of IntelliResponse Systems Inc. or other third party.


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IntelliResponse White Paper Customer Experience and Financial Services