Corporate Advertising Profile: BT Ireland6 FINANCE DUBLIN | JULY 2013

Meeting the omni-channel expectations of BT’s financialservices customers

How are customers' expectationsevolving when interacting withcompanies?It is a major discussion pointamongst companies that as we see theuse of more mobile devices in thehome, and with the increasingbroadband speed and functionality onoffer, customers’ expectations are alsoevolving. The speed at which individuals cannow access information is settingexpectations for how they wantcompanies to deal with them.Customers want things to be quickerand easier. In recent research carriedout by BT in conjunction with HenleyBusiness School, 78% of individualssaid that they would buy more fromcompanies that make it easier for themto do business. From a company’sperspective it also means that they arehaving to deal more with a variety ofcustomers from those that are unhappy

to those that want to interact across allthe omni-channels that are at theirdisposal. This latter point brings with ita more complex perspective within thefinancial sector when trying to providesecure information across multiplechannels.

How can BT Ireland meet these expectations?BT is in the unique position in that itis both a contact centre practitionerwith circa 30,000 internal call centreseats as well as supporting corporate

customers to deploy contact centresolutions. As such BT supports itscustomers from both a technical aswell as a business perspective, and hasindividuals who are ex-bankingdirectors who understand the financialmarketplace. As one of the world’sleaders in communications solutionsand IT services, BT Ireland can helpcompanies consolidate the multiplecommunication channels that are nowavailable including how best to usesocial media and which channels aremost appropriate to support acompany’s brand strategy. BT can alsooffer solutions that are flexible andscalable through having both localknowledge and a global presence. Inhaving supported customers with theirchannel strategy we are aware of howbest to save companies time and moneywith appropriate business cases.

What new innovations are happeningin the world of customer contact andhow can they help a company'scustomer expectations?Research shows that customerexperience is not only about over-achieving but by making it easier for

customers to deal with you. We areseeing mobile banking gaining inpopularity and 1 in 4 would like to beable to make mobile payments. Againresearch is showing that 43% who seenegative coverage on social media sitesabout their bank would move.Consumers are using more channelsand more data. The average number ofchannels used to buy a new financialservices product is 2.9 and 37% ofconsumers agree that they continuallychange how they contact their bank.Web chat and web services is now seenas the fastest growing channel. Theylike providers to make multi-channelaccess easy, cut effort and remind themof helpful services but 53% are put offusing some financial service providersif there are too many passwords and IDdetails needed.

How well positioned is BT Ireland toserve Irish multinationals?BT Ireland has the ability to offerlocal knowledge in Ireland but has atits disposal a global presence in over170 countries servicing over 7,000corporations. BT provides networks forglobal financial customers. Irish

Kim Robertson

BT Ireland’s offices at Grand Canal Plaza, Dublin. The firm employs close to 3,000 peopleon the island of Ireland, including 500 IT specialists.

Kim Robertson, senior management consultant at BT Ireland, on the challenge of meeting customers’ evolving expectations, the latestinnovations in customer contact and BT’s service offering for theinternational financial services sector, both in Ireland and globally.BT Ireland is a leading provider of networked IT services togovernment and major businesses

BT Ireland 7FINANCE DUBLIN | JULY 2013

multinationals are able to use thebenefits of BT’s global presence andalso leverage our experience ofworking with global financial services.According to ISG Research, BT has thehighest standalone managed networkservices (MNS) market share globallyand is the only provider with double-digit share for standalone MNSservices in each of the three regions(Americas, Asia Pacific & EMEA). BTGlobal Services is positioned in theleaders’ quadrant of Gartner’s NetworkService Provider Magic Quadrants. Weserve:

• 94% of the FTSE100 companies• 74% of the Fortune 500 companies• 100% of Interbrands’ top 50 annualranking of the world’s mostvaluable brands• the world’s top stock exchanges,leading broker-dealers and biggestbanks.

How can BT's services be tailoredfor financial services clients?BT’s customers are the world’slargest banks, largest insurers, largestbrokers, largest exchanges, largestinvestment managers and largest datavendors. We interlink the world’slargest secure financial servicescommunity with highest-qualityservices that win international industryawards. Tens of thousands of financialtraders around the world depend onBT’s voice and data communicationssolutions every second of the 24x7trading day. Billions of financialtransactions are completed securelyand successfully every day due to theservices that BT provides to this sectorinternationally. These can number inexcess of 29 million transactions on adaily basis. So we have the experienceof working in today’s complex anddemanding financial marketplace. Wehave individuals who have experienceof working in the financial industry atexecutive level and hence can bring anoperational understanding to thecommunications world. BT spends overÛ600 million per annum in research

and development and some of this isspecifically on trends that we areseeing in the global and local financialmarkets. The ability to provide thelatest SIP-based voice platform nowmeans that we can virtualise across the

complete organisation and ensure thatchannels are routed to the best placedspecialist. It also brings with itflexibility to adapt to the requirementsfor home and remote workers.

What benefits will a financialservices company see when usingBT's contact centre?BT currently manages 60,000contact centre seats in the financialmarket and has the experience ofworking across multiple channels from

the ATM to the retail branch to securemessaging across the latest omni-channels. We understand the specificregulatory and market challenges thatfinancial services companies facetoday from dealing with cost reductionand cash conservation, to entering newgrowth markets and also for therequirements to be increasingly agileacross multi channels including webchat, social media and mobile whilststill ensuring that the existing channelsof self service are also furtherenhanced.

Of greater benefit and understandingis taking the contact centre capabilityto the specialists that can existanywhere in the organisation. The SIPnetwork ensures that this can beextended to remote workers, specialistsin the branches and home workers. Allof which can gain benefits fromvirtualisation. This can be providedwithout the need for a switchinfrastructure. BT has some strong business caseswithin the financial market todemonstrate where it is possible togain a significant increase in sales anddecrease in costs.

For further information visitwww.btireland.com

BT Ireland Case StudyWorking with a large financial institution in Ireland, major savings were achievedthrough consolidation of sites and technology and the ability to virtualise againststaff, processes and skills across these sites. As a result, savings of up to 16% inFTEs were achieved. Through the ability to both understand and measure thecustomer journey in its entirety it was then possible to achieve further streamliningof processes and a reduction of costs. 15% productivity gains were also achievedby the ability to route to key skills and specialist individuals. This can now beextended to other non-voice and digital channels as customer touchpoints arealigned, integrated and monitored.

“We understand the specificregulatory and marketchallenges that financialservices companies facetoday”