Financial services companies have weathered a number of disruptions over the past few years. COVID-19 has accelerated the transition to digital transactions and engagements for clients of banking, insurance and capital markets firms. Financial services organizations will merge in-person and digital services by 2023, according to industry leaders who recently shared their insights with us. They want to provide their customers with a seamless and consistent experience regardless of channel.
In late 2022, we surveyed 100 leaders in banking, insurance and capital markets to understand where financial services organizations will focus their energies in 2023. 2023 Customer Experience Trends in the Financial Services Industry.
AI-powered customer engagement
Digitization was a major theme throughout the duration of COVID-19. A few years later, the rush has slowed. In our 2022 report, 62 percent of respondents said they dedicated at least a quarter of their budget to customer experience (CX). That number has declined as the urgency for change fades. Now that services have moved online, the focus has shifted to optimizing them.
Businesses are turning to new technologies to automate processes and increase the value of the digital customer experience. This year, many businesses are aiming to unlock customer self-service, and nearly 50 percent of respondents said they want to use customer data for real-time personalization. According to the CEO of a capital markets firm with more than $10 billion in annual revenue, “AI-enabled customer engagement is the most competitive innovation in the industry.” As a result, more than 50 percent of our survey respondents believe their customers will adopt digital financial tools over physical branch services within the next 12 months.
Omnichannel CX
Most companies strive to deliver the same level of service and personalization in digital and in-person settings. However, financial services organizations must comply with regulations that can make this goal difficult.
In the 2023 report, fewer respondents said their organizations’ CX was consistent across all channels than the previous year. This may reflect the difficulties inherent in digitization within the industry. As a result, CX leaders are investing in solutions to become more efficient, better serve customers and reduce costs. As one C-suite executive put it, “Personalizing virtual interactions with customers will drive value across the industry.” As a result, 46 percent of respondents to our 2023 report say their organizations’ CX budgets will increase over the next 12 months.
Consistent CX across all touchpoints through personalization
Year after year, financial services organizations have made strides in making their CX more consistent. In 2022, 33 percent of respondents said their CX is somewhat consistent across channels. In the 2023 report, that number rose to 49 percent.
Respondents said tracking customer cases across channels was their biggest challenge in this area. Many also noted that it can be difficult to build meaningful relationships with clients. This challenge was also mentioned in the 2022 report. In both years, respondents emphasized that personalization is the key to developing customer relationships. As a result, more than 90 percent integrate a customer relationship management solution into the call center and add additional training to help agents build strong relationships with customers.
Take action to increase your CX
Learn more about how you can improve your CX by downloading the 2023 Customer Experience Trends in Financial Services report.
To learn more about our financial services solutions and partners, check out our dedicated resources for banking, capital markets and insurance.