Omni-Channel Banking Customer Experience: Forget What You Thought You Knew about Channels

Transcription

1 A Point of View Omni-Channel Banking Customer Experience: Forget What You Thought You Knew about Channels In social media, customers discuss their experience across ALL your interaction channels, which makes social analytics a great tool for measuring the performance of an omni-channel strategy. Our cross channel social analysis has resulted in disruptive new insights into how customers really use your channels. And it's NOT how you think they do. About the Author Tonya McKinney Tonya McKinney heads the GCP Digital Strategy Consulting and Solutions practice at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). She leads a team of digital strategy domain experts that helps Fortune 1,000 companies create solutions for enhancing the digital customer experience and address challenges. Multichannel Dogma For the last few years, pundits, 'gurus' and even analysts, who advise companies on the best practices for creating and managing a multichannel experience, have promoted three key best practices: Seamless experience across channels Right channel for the right transaction Consistent experience across channels Unfortunately, those 'best practices' may be exactly the wrong practices, especially for the more complex tasks and activities consumers execute in retail banking. Recent TCS social research indicates that contrary to this common channel 'dogma', banking customers don't want to use all your channels, they don't want to move channels to conduct transactions, and their experience expectations change from channel to channel. Let's explore these disruptive new omni-channel findings in more detail. Banks Are Omni-channel, Customers Are Not Assumption #1: Because customers channel hop, companies must create a seamless multichannel environment so their customers can move easily from channel to channel. An analysis of the social channel data for banks does show that customers use multiple channels; however that data is purely transactional data. Suppose that customer A has logged into the mobile app three times in a single day, and then called customer services to complete a transaction. Conventional data sources are not suitable for evaluating whether a customer wants to use multiple channels, they only indicate that they do use multiple channels. Traditional data and analysis (Net Promoter Scores, for example) do not reveal that the customer logged in three times because the mobile app does not store the form information from one session to the next, and that this customer likes to get administrative tasks done throughout the day when she has breaks in her work routine (mobile micro-cycle behavior). The call center data only shows that the 'issue was resolved', meaning the customer's credit card details were updated, not that the core issue was the failure of the mobile app. In our analysis of how banks meet customer expectations across channels, we used linguistic and behavioral analysis of unstructured social data to explore what customers expect from each channel and WHY they move from channel to channel. Our results revealed very different motivations for channel hopping. Our findings show that customers are mostly 'uni-channel', exhibiting channel inertia. Channel inertia means customers prefer to use one, maybe two, primary channels to perform as many of their transactions as possible. Only when that channel fails to meet their expectations, do they shift to another channel.

2 Customers Expect ALL Transactions in Their Channel of Choice Assumption #2: Customers want to perform certain transactions in certain channels the transaction determines the channel. Again we found contrary information in our study of retail banking social data. Banks know that customers tend to go to the ATM or branch to make a deposit, ergo they must prefer to use those channels for deposit transactions. Our analysis showed that channel inertia extended across all transactions that customers prefer to perform all transactions in their channel of choice. They only switch channels when their preferred channel fails to meet their expectations for a transaction experience. Perceptions of security issues, ease of use, mobile deposit limits, and performance are all reasons why customers may leave the mobile or online channel to go to a physical channel. In our research, banking customers identified nine core transactions that they expect to perform in any channel, at any time. Discovering what customers consider a 'complete' experience is imperative if banks want to shift customers to new channels. Banks should investigate when customers repeatedly conduct certain transactions in a few channels find out why those transactions are not being performed in the other channels 1% 1% 2% 37% 25% 4% 6% 9% 15% Deposit Open Account Switch Banks Close Account Withdraw Access/Manage Account Use Auto Bill Pay Transfer Money Apply for Credit Card Source: Insights from TCS ChannelScore Analysis, Retail Banking, Banks Win or Lose Customers by Channel Figure 1: Banking Transactions Customers Expect to Perform across all Channels. Assumption #3: Customer Experience should be the same across all channels. Customer experience is influenced by the context of the channel what makes customers feel their expectations were exceeded, met, or missed depends largely on the context of the channels they use not on a bank's overall reputation or experience in other channels. We call this phenomenon channel context. The criteria for account management by a financial advisor are not the same as for account management on a mobile application. The customer's expectations of how long it will take, the process, security and safety, accessibility, and the interface will vary. Banks need to understand the unique requirements of every channel to create delightful customer experiences. This understanding is even more critical for banks that want to shift customers from costly traditional channels to lower cost digital channels the new channel should offer an experience that meets or exceeds the experience offered by the old channel. The Bad News: The High Cost of Channel Failover Customers switch channels when they cannot complete a transaction using the channel of their choice and, they always have a next-best channel in mind. We call this phenomenon channel failover, and unfortunately, the next-best channel is usually a more expensive channel most commonly, the call center. Banks can use this insight to identify the right channels to invest in, as well as more actively influence customers' next best channel choices either to reduce cost or increase satisfaction. Increased calls to the call center are indicative of the failure of other channels and banks should identify the source of the problems and resolve critical issues that drive the maximum number of calls. Banks can also actively guide customers to their next strongest channel. Why let customers using the mobile app failover to the overtaxed call center and stay on hold when a text message can quickly move them to your award-winning website where they'll find a customer service representative ready to resolve their issue through interactive web chat? 2

3 Channel Inertia Channel Failover Channel Context Despite availability of multiple channels, banking customers commit to one primary channel. The concept that customers want to use multiple channels is not supported in social data. Banks need to understand Channel Inertia to successfully shift more customers to lower cost channels. Many banking customers do not switch channels by choice but because they cannot complete a transaction in their channel of choice. This is a prevalent topic in social discussions, and banks need to manage Channel Failover more proactively. Customer experience must succeed by channel, because the channel determines the context for success. Customers have different requirements and expectations for each channel, even for the same transaction (for example, making a deposit). Table 1: New Rules for Omni-channel Management Recommendations: Winning in the Channel, Overcoming Inertia, Mastering Loyalty Winning the Channel: Deliver the complete experience in the customer's channel of choice To attract customers, banks invest a great amount of time, resources, and money across all channels. To retain customers, they must look at channels the same way customers do through a single lens. For instance, when a customer calls the bank to complain that she cannot deposit a check using her mobile app, the short-term answer might be to direct her to the branch or an ATM a few miles away. But even if her transaction at the branch is successful, her levels of satisfaction and engagement are lowered because she had to move from her preferred channel(s). Banks must understand what customers want from each channel and deliver the complete experience in the customer's channel of choice. Most banks are trying to reduce the cost of servicing customers while maintaining a high level of satisfaction by investing in digital channels and shifting customers to these lower cost channels. Understanding customers' primary channel preferences and expectations can help banks align the facilities offered on each channel with customer requirements and prioritize investments to meet their main needs. Conversely, after analyzing the channel preferences of its policy holders, an insurer may find it easier and more cost-effective to attract new digital customers. This may be more effective than hiring more agents and advisors to cater to traditional customers. Insights gained from social media data can help understand how to design for, find, and market to high-value customers who prefer digital channels. Overcoming Inertia: Successfully moving customers from conventional to digital channels by offering the best of both worlds As a corollary to the first recommendation, insights from social media data can help banks actively manage channel choices to improve their costs and customer satisfaction. We know now that customers prefer to use one primary channel. On social media, the channel that banking customers discuss the most is the channel with the second highest cost to the bank the bank branch (the highest being the call center). Most people believe that customers use social media to complain, but our social insight study showed that customers primarily used social media to share information or to announce a positive experience. When we looked closely at the social insight themes that showed how the bank branch met or exceeded customer expectations, we found that tellers and bank staff generated a lot of conversation. In other words, human interaction was an important theme overall. On the surface, we could take these results to say that people use the bank branch and will continue to do so because the human interaction is a major factor in their decision. However, banks are under pressure to drive down costs by encouraging customers to use lower cost digital channels such as online banking, mobile apps, or the ATM. By using the rich insights from unstructured data such as social media (Figure 2), banks can learn what customers expect from each channel and how to replicate the experience of higher cost channels in digital channels driving the use of lower cost channels. 3

4 Social Media Provides Insight into Bank Performance across All Channels ATM 228(3.36%) All ATM Posts Baseline Expectation Apps 617(17.12%) All Apps Posts Online 1,174(32.74%) All Online Posts 940 Branch 1,203(33.55%) All Branch Posts Source: Insights from TCS Channel Score Analysis, Retail Banking, Call Center 367(10.23%) All Call Center Posts Bank of America has taken an unusual approach to drive customers from the bank branch to its ATMs. In late 2013, Bank of America deployed its Teller Assist program in four major metropolitan areas. Using Teller Assist, customers can chat with a live person at the ATM through video conferencing. In addition to providing the human interaction that some customers desire, these Teller Assist ATMs have also extended 'traditional' banking hours for customers who would usually go to a branch but who need access beyond traditional banking hours. Master Customer Loyalty: Understand the loyalty drivers and reward preference for each segment, each channel Digital capabilities continue to lower switching barriers. And many triggers to switch exist, such as: Continued lack of trust in financial institutions Emergence of competitive digital options Expansion of other industries such as retail into consumer financial services Easy access to competitive information and services Channel failure The banking industry is facing significant commoditization. Today, a bank's competitive advantage lies more in delivering a differentiated and delightful customer experience than financial services. To master customer loyalty, banks need a deep understanding of their customers' psychographics, and particularly of their loyalty behaviors. Banks have unprecedented access to life stage and financial behavioral data such as purchase data some of the most useful information in understanding what matters most to customers. This structured transactional data combined with insights gained from an analysis of social media data should help these banks understand and engage with customers in a deeper and more meaningful way, translating into customer loyalty. Conclusion: Still an Undiscovered Country Exceed Expectations Meet Expectations Miss Expectations Figure 2: How do you move happy branch customers to digital channels? What can we learn from the results of analyzing retail banking social data with the TCS ChannelScore text analytics framework? First, that the effects of digital disruption on consumers and channels are far from settled for banking, and we must keep our minds open and continue to critically analyze data and recommendations. It's too soon to be looking for 'THE' best practice or definitive standards. And that's great, because it means the potential for competitive differentiation in banking is high. Second, we see that banks can leverage new sources of data such as social content and new methods of analysis such as linguistic analytic tools to uncover radical new insights. Again, this means banks that master social and/or unstructured data sources and its analysis can develop immense competitive advantage. While this particular study has revealed some startling new insights Channel Inertia, Channel Failover and Channel Context, the real takeaway for banking is the value in doing the targeted research for your industry, your bank. Teller Assist is a registered trademark of Bank of America 4

5 About TCS' Global Consulting Practice TCS' Global Consulting Practice (GCP) is a key component in how TCS delivers additional value to clients. Using our collective industry insight, technology expertise, and consulting know-how, we partner with enterprises worldwide to deliver integrated end-to-end IT enabled business transformation services. By tapping our worldwide pool of resources - onsite, offshore and nearshore, our high caliber consultants leverage solution accelerators and practice capabilities, balanced with our knowledge of local market demands, to enable enterprises to effectively meet their business goals. GCP spearheads TCS's consulting capacity with consultants located in North America, UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, Ibero-America and Australia. Contact For more information about TCS' consulting services, us at global.consulting@tcs.com For more information about TCS' Banking & Financial Services, us at bfs.marketing@tcs.com About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled infrastructure, engineering TM and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata Group, India s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has a global footprint and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at IT Services Business Solutions Consulting All content / information present here is the exclusive property of Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS). The content / information contained here is correct at the time of publishing. No material from here may be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, uploaded, transmitted, posted or distributed in any form without prior written permission from TCS. Unauthorized use of the content / information appearing here may violate copyright, trademark and other applicable laws, and could result in criminal or civil penalties. Copyright 2014 Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS Design Services I M I 04 I 14