Glia, a leading provider of Digital Customer Service technology, today shared the primary trends it anticipates will significantly impact the financial services landscape through the rest of the year, shaping the new normal in a post-COVID-19 world.
The rise in Digital Customer Service. Because of the pandemic, customers and members are moving more of their banking to digital channels. Activities such as opening accounts and loan applications, which have more often been done in person, are now moving online, and users often need help executing these functions, especially since many are using digital for the first time. These digital novices need education and guidance on how to best leverage digital channels. Digital Customer Service (DCS) enables financial institutions to engage users directly through the institution’s digital domain using chat, voice and video, and co-pilot them through any digital transaction. Banks and credit unions that use DCS will bring a personal touch into the digital domain.
Traditional phone service models are notoriously frustrating and inefficient. Since customer service is much more effective when launched from within the digital banking experience, the most advanced institutions are removing phone numbers from their websites and replacing them with digital-first communication options. More institutions will follow suit over the coming year or two.
Contact centers become “Engagement Centers.” Self-service has shifted the complexity curve of customer and member support inquiries. Previously, simple requests were the main reasons people contacted their institutions; now, automation can resolve the more straightforward issues. As a result, call centers are fielding more complex requests. This is causing a shift: call centers are becoming more sophisticated, with more highly trained and specialized employees. Expect to see this transition more fully materialize over the next 18-24 months.
AI coaches for representatives. Chatbots started in banking as AI for simple customer or member-facing questions and experiences. However, the technology is ideal to assist service representatives, speeding up customer service by surfacing relevant customer and member information during the interaction, suggesting the best next action and providing better training for employees. The more innovative banks and credit unions will adopt agent-facing bots during the second half of 2020 and into 2021.
“The pandemic has accelerated institutions’ timelines for digital transformation; what used to be three-year plans are now becoming just three-quarter roadmaps,” said Dan Michaeli, co-founder and CEO of Glia. “Nearly all banking needs can be managed digitally, but institutions often forget about the critical last mile: Digital Customer Service. Convenient interactions within the digital channel make for a better customer and member experience while improving efficiencies for the institution. The future arrived faster than anyone could have anticipated. Leading banks and credit unions will embrace this new normal, combining modern technology with personal service to succeed in the digital world.”