In today’s market, where most sectors are saturated with competing products and services fighting for consumers’ attention and racing to secure their place in the market, delivering an exceptional customer service is a crucial way to differentiate. Consumers are fickle. Brands are continuously offering us incentives to switch – whether it’s switching bank account, supermarket or network provider. For a brand to win our complete loyalty requires the customer experience to be:
- Highly Personalised
- Trustworthy and Safe
- Easy & Convenient
- Engaging from Start to Finish
Many companies don’t establish the difference between customer service and customer experience. It is, in theory, fairly straight forward to deliver good customer service. But if companies were to really think about the customer’s individual experience from start to finish and immerse themselves fully in the user journey with the view to find and fix any issues that could cause an inconvenience to the flow – wouldn’t that be a recipe for delivering an ‘unbelievable’ customer experience? This requires a very proactive, customer centric strategy and is made much more possible through the use of technology.
1 – Personalisation
Digital first organisations are much better positioned to provide the kind of highly personalised solutions that consumers increasingly expect. As technology advances, more data can be processed and companies learn more about their customers.
Basic personalisation, for example receiving an email with your name on it is no longer cutting it for consumers. Segment found that just 22% of survey respondents are satisfied with the level of personalisation they currently receive when shopping. But how do we fix this?
Increasingly, AI and Machine Learning are becoming the best way to deliver the most personalised experience to customers. In order for companies to provide such a personalised experience, they need to capture consumers’ data. This is often perceived to be something that consumers are nervous about. However Salesforce found in a survey of over 7000 consumers, 57% are willing to share personal data in exchange for personalised product recommendations and promotions. It makes sense! The only thing worse than being bombarded with emails and offers is if none of them actually apply to you! On top of this, it’s a win-win… by using data-driven marketing techniques to tailor offers to people at the right time for them, companies are much more likely to increase conversion rates and boost sales of their products and services.
Capital One, in the Digital Banking sector, is using Machine Learning with their customers’ data to provide highly personalised experiences. Their ‘Second Look’ program was launched as a service that is offered to monitor customers’ spending habits. It provides detailed insights into customers’ spending patterns and communicates this with customers via push notifications. They are also using the technology to identify unusual behaviour on customers’ bank accounts. If something is identified as unusual, customers are notified immediately – directly to their smartphones through their app. This is not just for when suspicious transactions are recognised – but also for example if people’s bills are increased. This kind of experience is delivering a level of personalisation that consumers are expecting, but also a level of trust which results in brand loyalty.
2 – Safe Systems to Keep Users’ Data Secure
With GDPR coming into force earlier this year, keeping customers’ data secure is more important than ever. If consumers trust you with their data, they are more likely to remain loyal and offer return custom. Brands need to build this trust amongst their customers by integrating the latest security and authentication technology across all of their platforms. Securing customer data in the Digital Banking sector is crucial and trust from customers to share their data with banks is integral to their success.
2-step authentication logins have been used for some time within this sector and while effective, consumers are now expecting even more security for less effort! Use of biometrics provide a convenient compromise between providing the best security to protect consumers’ data and providing a simple, straightforward customer experience. Research conducted by EyeVerify found that 86% of respondents find logging into mobile banking apps easier with biometrics rather than the traditional method of entering a password. With the consumers increasingly being offered the capability of storing their payment details across multiple e-commerce apps and platforms, this use of biometric technology has the potential to greatly enhance the login experience for users. It will provide heightened protection of financial data, while making the platforms easier, faster and generally more convenient for customers to use.
3 – Convenience
From managing accounts and payments on-the-go, 24/7, to being able to return unwanted items of clothing quickly and easily, technology is transforming consumers’ digital expectations. Slick technology that is intuitive and responsive is one of the major influencers for consumers when choosing brands. Mobile technology advancements mean it’s now possible to order items on your mobile phone within seconds – and just one tap! Busy lifestyles are influencing buying decisions, meaning that convenience is everything. This is where a well designed User Experience (UX) should be priority for applications and online experiences.
The best UX comes as a result of conducting significant customer research. Customer journey mapping is one way that marketers can identify opportunities to optimise interactions and iron out customer experience issues. These issues could be alienating people and costing businesses money. By not investing time and resources to ensure the best and most convenient user experience possible, brands are losing customers and damaging their reputation.
4 – Engagement
UX also plays a huge part when engaging with your customers. For some sectors increasing consumer engagement levels is seen as a challenge. After all, there’s only so much fun and engagement people can expect while setting up a direct debit for their new gym membership, or signing up to the mobile app for their new energy provider?! But this is where so many organisations are mistaken, and are consequently falling behind and failing to deliver the expected customer experience.
Monzo, a mobile bank, is an example of a company that is using technology to deliver a fantastically engaging experience and consequently outperforming other companies in the digital banking sector. They have created a product that is responding to what consumers need and want in today’s market. Providing customers with overviews on what they are spending their money on, allowing users to set spending goals and budgets as well as using personalised push notifications to communicate are just some of the ways that Monzo is providing a new level of engagement through their banking app. They also have the advantage of being a new player with no outdated legacy systems that are holding back their innovation and ability to meet the digital market’s demands.This customer centric strategy has resulted in recent ratings showing that Monzo has scored over 90% satisfaction.
SwarmOnline’s sister company CU Soar is a fintech that is disrupting the model and changing the game by enabling ethical finance in the Credit Union sector and beyond. They do this by giving credit unions the tools to drive engagement with their members and lighten the load with operational efficiencies. The mobile app has been designed to maximise membership engagement whilst remaining simple and easy to use.
- Members can engage directly with their money without having to visit a branch
- Managing loan repayments is easier than ever with 24/7 access to view account balances and personalised reminder notifications.
- Credit unions can create custom forms and surveys and communicate with members via targeted push notifications.
- Drive community engagement with news and events updates directly through the app
Before CU Soar, the credit union market was severely underserved by companies providing software to drive digital engagement. Read more here.
Conclusion
Main takeaways:
- Consumers are fickle and gaining their loyalty can be difficult. Delivering a high level of customer experience can often be the only way to differentiate.
- Technology is the number one way for companies to innovate and transform the customer experiences they are delivering.
- Increasingly, the market is looking for convenience, through seamless digital journeys and clever UX across applications and websites.
For a brand to win our complete loyalty requires the customer experience to be:
- Highly Personalised
- Trustworthy and Safe
- Easy & Convenient
- Engaging from Start to Finish
All of these points are made more achievable through integrating slick technology and bespoke software built with the customers needs at the forefront of the strategy.
How Swarm can help…
- Bespoke Mobile and Web Applications
- Our experts in UX create engaging start to finish experiences for your customers
- Consultancy on upgrading legacy software
- Got an idea to improve the way you’re engaging with your customers? Embark upon a tailored Discovery Bootcamp with our team of passionate Engineers and UX/UI experts to bring your idea to life.
