Customer experience is changing rapidly within financial services, driven largely by two major trends. Firstly, new entrants mean increased competition and disruption to traditional methods of banking. Secondly, consumers are moving away from face-to-face and telephone interactions to use more digital channels.
Both factors require greater investment in CX and customer service. According to ContactBabel’s latest UK Financial Services Contact Centre report, the number of contact centre agent positions in the sector has risen by 20% since 2010. Moreover, it is expected to grow by a further 4% by 2025.
When it comes to customer service, the sector is already a dominant employer with 20% of the larger (250 seat plus) contact centres, paying agents above average to attract and retain staff.
However, there are wider issues complicating this investment and switch to digital. Firstly, financial services organisations must focus on efficiency and ROI in their contact centre spend, leading to a need to reduce costs and consolidate operations.
Secondly, while digital is growing, the complexity of financial services interactions means organisations still need to offer personal, human channels, both to reassure customers and because many conversations are too complicated to automate.
These factors mean customer service has never been more important – or more difficult to master. This guide outlines current challenges and looks at how financial services companies can future-proof customer service
