What credit unions can learn from Netflix about digital support

Financial institutions of any size can implement small steps used by Netflix and other e-commerce rock stars to ease the load on contact centers, especially when live chat is used. Equally important, these steps lead to significant opportunities to cross-sell consumers who clearly have indicated an intent to act.

So much is said about how Amazon and Netflix and other e-commerce giants make digital browsing, buying and paying so intuitive and personalized that a critical point often goes unmentioned: They handle consumer support questions exceptionally well. These firms don’t simply answer questions. They use technology to respond in a way that keeps live-chat or call-center staff from bogging down on routine — often technical — questions, and leads the consumer further along the path of intent using clear action steps.

Effective online support is an area where many banking providers fall short of what can be done, yet improvements do not require massive investments in artificial intelligence or personalization capabilities, according to D.J. Haskins, Vice-President of Marketing for SilverCloud. What Netflix does is well within the reach of banks and credit unions, he adds, not necessarily at the same scale or degree of sophistication, but achievable through small steps.

“As consumers we live in an on-demand, self-service world,” says Haskins, who spoke during a webinar hosted by The Financial Brand. “Netflix, Amazon, Uber, AirBNB have all rewired our brains so that we not only expect to be able to watch or shop on-demand, but get answers to questions the same way.”

 

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