Contact Centre Summit | Forum Events Contact Centre Summit | Forum Events Contact Centre Summit | Forum Events Contact Centre Summit | Forum Events Contact Centre Summit | Forum Events

Posts Tagged :

digital transformation

Digital transformation for finance – and what it means for customer experience

 1024 682 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0

By Dr. Palanivel Rathinasabapathi Velmurugan is a Lecturer at Berlin School of Business and Innovation (BSBI) in Human Resource Management & Finance Stream

Information technology is becoming an integral part of our daily routines because of digital transformation. All businesses must embrace digital transformation, no matter how large or small. If you fail to incorporate digital transformation into your business, you will fail. As you use digital transformation in your business, you will benefit from improved efficiency, better business agility, and a better understanding of how to deliver value to customers, employees, and stakeholders.

In recent years, the financial sector has experienced a variety of digital transformation trends, which have several advantages for businesses and society at large. Digital transformation in finance is the method of using digital technologies to improve financial services with the objective of making them more efficient, effective, and easy to access anywhere in the world. In the context of finance transformation, it is possible to restructure and implement the finance working model, bookkeeping and finance activities, financial capabilities, and re-platforming of finance and accounting system software. With the advent of digital transformation in finance, various FinTech companies now offer a wide range of digital services to their customers.

Over the last few years, a vast number of banking customers have shifted from traditional banking to mobile banking (Digital Transformation). As a result, customers save time when accessing the bank in person since it is generally less busy, and it is more convenient because they can access online banking anytime, anywhere. Paperless transactions are one of the most significant trends in mobile banking.

Blockchain technology (Digital Transformation) plays a crucial role in this transformation. By introducing blockchain, people will be able to recognize, record, and store assets digitally and will be able to invest their resources and trade in markets better. Through better integration and governance, blockchain can support financial operations more efficiently and effectively. This has resulted in blockchain playing an increasingly significant role in the digital transformation of finance and investments.

Businesses that implement robotic process automation (Digital Transformation) can significantly improve their ability to digitize finance functions. Automating repetitive tasks reduces an employee’s workload and frees them up to emphasize value-added activities. Additionally, RPA can reduce the likelihood of human error, improving accuracy and compliance. It is expected that RPA will play a more vital role in achieving efficiency and measuring success as organizations continue to digitize their finance functions.

In the world of financial data, artificial intelligence (Digital Transformation) can be useful in identifying gaps and inconsistencies that would otherwise go unnoticed. By using AI, expense reports can be produced accurately and up to date, which is crucial for making informed decisions. The forecasts provided by finance companies are based on past data and current trends, so they can help enterprises foresee future demands and plan appropriately. Using AI-enabled analytics, the digital finance transformation can be supported through improved data quality, truthfulness, and efficiency.

After AI, quantum computing made use of the quantum mechanical phenomenon to tackle a wide variety of computational and algorithmic issues. A financial instrument, such as European call options in the derivatives market, is priced over time using the Black-Scholes-Merton model that uses Brownian motion. A wide range of applications is possible with this technology, including fraud detection, high-frequency trading, payments, and cybersecurity. The use of quantum AI (Digital Transformation) automates the entire crypto trading process to make it easy and profitable for you to invest in crypto. An advanced AI and quantum computing algorithm are integrated into a web-based computer programme. In trading, AI Quantum computing is the first system that combines AI with Quantum Computing.

Increasing accuracy, providing more reliable output, reducing manual intervention, and increasing automation are considered the top business case drivers of the digitalization of finance functions by customers. As mentioned in this article’s introduction, ICT is an integral part of our daily life. In this world, customers and investors will never be able to return to traditional forms of financial trade or services once they have participated in the digital transformation of finance.

Brands moving to digital interactions ‘leaving older consumer behind’

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0

Older consumers are being left behind when businesses digitise their customer facing operations, requiring organisations to take a more thoughtful approach to their digital engagement to ensure inclusivity.

Findings in research by Twilio reveal that while UK consumers over 65 hold significant digital shopping power, with 76% relying on online shopping, only 12% feel understood by brands they interact with digitally.

While many in this age group are digitally-savvy, the communications options offered by businesses can often fall short of providing a reliable route to resolution, eroding trust.

Meanwhile, more accessible methods of communication, like phone or email, are also often phased out in a drive for digital transformation, without consideration for the diversity of needs from different customer groups and the complexity of some customer support situations.

Use of modern technologies like chatbots should be judicious, and businesses must digitise with consideration of every customer’s needs.

The majority of consumers in the over 65 group indicated that they find it hard to get in touch with companies, because many organisations do not design their customer engagement with the nuances of different demographics in mind. Significantly, 85% of consumers over 65 said they would rather speak to someone over the phone compared to other methods.

That said, 16% from this demographic are happy to use technology channels such as chatbots and apps to interact with brands. Businesses should therefore analyse the feedback and data customers share to ensure they offer every customer the options that best suit them.

“Trust between business and customer is crucial, particularly in challenging economic times, and building that trust with tailored, personalised communication is key,” said Sam Richardson, Principal Visioneering Consultant at Twilio. “Customer engagement needs to be inclusive in order to be effective, and good old fashioned phone calls don’t need to fall by the wayside in an effort to modernise – in fact, all age groups find them useful for chatting through more complex problems. While in-app chat and SMS are useful for delivery updates and might perfectly suit more digital-native audiences, businesses should also think about what people with accessibility needs require from them.”

Failing to cater to the over 65 demographic also represents a missed business opportunity because they make up such a prominent portion of the online retail market. The 18-24 bracket is notably more likely never to shop online compared to over 65s: only 6% of consumers over 65 said that they never do their shopping online, compared to 30% of 18-24 year olds. Similarly, over half (51%) of over 65s read or keep hold of digital marketing communications.

But a lack of consideration is creating a trust barrier with older consumers, including when it comes to marketing. Half (50%) of shoppers over 65 didn’t know where brands got their contact details from, while one in five indicated that they believe brands only care about their money. This contrasts with younger consumers, who feel more understood as an audience, but are actually not as engaged with internet purchases.

“Older demographics are clearly more interested in regular brand engagement online compared to younger consumers,” continued Richardson. “As this older age bracket continues to grow in an ageing population, brands need to be better prepared to cater to older consumers digitally. This means reflecting customer preferences in available communication methods, as well as using first-party data – data collected consensually from customers – to deliver accurate, personalised experiences that make customers feel heard and understood. Technologies like customer data platforms can translate this data into insights, and this provides businesses valuable direction as to what customers actually want.”

Though companies dedicate a lot of time to getting to know their customers, data shows that many older consumers feel overlooked by the ways businesses engage with them, which is diminishing loyalty. Only one third (32%) of respondents over 65 feel like valued customers, 15% feel that brands care about them, and only 10% feel that they represent the main target audience when it comes to marketing communications.

Twilio commissioned the research in June 2022, with Walnut UNLIMITED conducting the survey. Walnut Omnibus is a quantitative syndicated survey conducted online twice a week with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 GB adults (aged 18+). The survey was completed in two waves, with a total of 4,028 consumers participating, 806 of which were over 65.

Davies webinar session: Financial services organisations struggle to create a CX culture built to last – but why?

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0

84% of financial services leaders rank business process alignment as more important than putting the customer first when designing customer experiences. How can they then create a CX culture that really puts the customer first?

Davies has discovered that culture seems to be taking a backseat for most CX leaders, although we all know that the absence of customer-first thinking often brings longer contact-centre wait times & more effort, resulting in enhanced frustration & unhappy customers.

In Davies’ upcoming webinar session, they’ll discover why, and their expert panel will share top tips on how to create a CX culture that will help you achieve those all-important business objectives.

Register below to find out:

  • How organisational culture is holding your fellow financial services peers back from achieving their CX goals
  • What CX leaders across financial services see as the most important factors in CX design
  • Common misconceptions on building and sustaining a strong internal CX focussed culture
  • Get actionable insight on how to develop a sustainable CX culture in your business
  • Ask any burning questions you have in a Q&A session

Don’t miss out! If you can’t make the webinar on the day, sign up and Davies will send the recording to you.

Register here

 

Making the move to cloud in contact centres: 3 key questions to ask

 960 640 Guest Post
By:
0

As organisations look to future-proof customer experience they are reviewing their contact centrestrategies with many turning to cloud-based technology for all-round agility. Magnus Geverts, VP Product Marketing and Management at Calabrio, shares his top tips for a smooth and successful transition to a cloud-first approach…  

As economies recover following the Coronavirus Pandemic cloud-based contact centres will become standard – that’s the verdict of over 300 contact centre professionals when asked about the future of their industry. Even before anyone had heard of COVID-19, the shift was happening but the acute pressures of managing virtualised home-working teams while meeting rising customer expectations have accelerated the rate of change. The statistics are revealing: one in ten contact centres is now fully cloud-based, eight in ten are ramping up deployment of cloud-based software and an astonishing 39% either plan to invest further in the technology or take the final leap into the cloud, if they haven’t already done so.

These results reflect what our own customers have witnessed throughout the pandemic. Organisations which have relied on an on-premise solution have often struggled to cope with the dual lockdown pressures of increased customer demand and a new working from home (WFH) workplace culture.

3 key questions to ask

With greater demand for remote working and employee flexibility there is no better time to adopt cloud-based contact centre technology, however, here are three things to consider:

Why move to the cloud in the first place?

Cloud-based communications systems offer far more flexibility, resilience and security than traditional on-premises solutions, without the need to hire additional IT staff or invest in expensive hardware. Strengthening your business case for cloud should start with people, the bedrock of great customer service. Cloud-based workforce management (WFM) solutions offer far more flexibility than traditional on-premise solutions. Agent autonomy and self-service including shift trades, booking time off and obtaining overtime shifts are made easy using a mobile app or secure staff portal. Wherever agents, planners or mangers are based they benefit from access to WFM for greater control of often tricky WFH environments.

The latest cloud solutions scale up and down flexibly, making it easy to add new channels, services and users in an instant, thereby boosting productivity, customer loyalty and longer-term profitability.

Finally, as customer expectations rise exponentially, organisations are seeking new ways to differentiate themselves through customer service. Now is the perfect time to combine the cloud with advanced, omnichannel Voice of the Customer (VoC) analytics. The cloud facilitates fast and simple integration between these sophisticated tools and other important applications, including CRM, to capture vital intelligence inside and outside the contact centre and add context to customer conversations. When agents know why a customer is contacting them in the first place, can understand their mood and have sight of their complete conversation history, they are empowered to deliver a far richer, relevant and satisfying customer experience. After all, brands that go beyond the simple ‘what happened?’ to ‘why did it happen? will be the outright winners.

What should I look for?

As contact centres prioritise moving to the cloud and investment pours into the marketplace, organisations are spoilt for choice. Big names and well-established vendors jostle alongside the new disruptive kids on the block such as Amazon Connect, who are introducing exciting new developments. Choice is undoubtedly good, but it can be confusing for cloud novices. The best technology vendors offer a blend of rich features and functionality with a strong service mentality and long-term vision.

When choosing a new vendor, be guided by a checklist of key qualities. One of the essential ‘must-haves’ is a cloud first value proposition. This means one single platform that is purpose-built for the cloud rather than adapted from a legacy system and is designed to deliver a single unified experience. A good technology partner must enable a flexible transition to the cloud while maintaining business as usual (BAU) operations. Meanwhile, opt for a solution set that scales readily with changing customer and business requirements and delivers quick win features to maximize ROI.

What could go wrong and how to avoid the pitfalls?

One of the main motivating factors for moving to the cloud is it simplifies contact centre operations while reducing IT and administration costs. However, choosing the wrong technology and aligning with the wrong partner can do more harm than good. Unwise choices merely increase the time and number of headaches associated with manually integrating standalone systems and trouble-shooting end-user issues. Avoid the pitfalls of choosing the wrong supplier. Look for a partner with an innovative outlook, proven experience and technology that is customisable, but comes with basic out-of-the-box contactcentre functionality as standard, is quick to deploy, easy to use and even easier to maintain.

Take the final leap into the cloud to enjoy the benefits of improved workforce flexibility, enhanced agent engagement and performance while gaining valuable insights across the contact centre and the overall business.

For more guidance, ideas and information about planning your shift to the cloud, download our “Making the Move to the Cloud” Ebook.