The BFSI industry is growing exponentially with the onset of the digital era. Major technological disruptions and innovations have forced companies to actively seek new ways and digitally transform themselves in a bid to gain an edge over their competition to acquire and retain customers.
To address critical gaps and growth potential in the BFSI Industry, experts went all-in to offer disruptive innovations and transformations at the OPEX in BFSI Summit this year in Mumbai.
The conference, held on 22 & 23 June at the Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport Hotel featured meetings, panel discussions, and roundtable sessions on the hottest topics in the BFSI industry today. The Ameyo team was elated to attend the landmark event and connect, network and interact with influential strategic leaders and experts in the field.
Attendees were in for quite a treat this year at the conference. There was a lot of buzz around achieving operational excellence and improving customer experience to meet business goals, apart from disruptive innovations in financial services.
For those who missed the event, here are 3 key takeaways:
Create CX Memories: Because Every Customer Has a Story to Tell
Customers remember a company/brand through the experiences they share with that brand. They are emotionally connected to brands. If a business can convert these experiences into everlasting memories – they will surely remember the company in the future.
Let me share an experience I can never forget. I was with some friends at a party at his house, and the weather was really nice – so we decided to take the party outside. We ended up at an open rooftop in an almost-abandoned building, and we were pretty sure we could never order some food at that particular spot. But we decided to give it a shot anyway, and ordered food from a local food aggregator. Well, some time later, I got a phone call from the delivery boy who was asking how to get to the roof. And he didn’t complain once. Let me tell you – it was a pretty rewarding experience.
Guess what – they just gained a loyal customer (me)!
Now that’s what I call an experience I would happily share with my peers. More importantly, as a customer experience advocate, it shows that they give importance to having a proper customer experience management program in place. And, let me tell you – it works! Does your company have an effective CEM program to foster loyalty and satisfaction?
The Next Level of Business Excellence Can Only Be Achieved Through Technological Innovation
Analytics is no longer considered an innovative force – it has become more of a necessity. The emergence of new and innovative technologies, such as AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Virtual Reality has changed the very nature of a modern business. Businesses should tap into the power of such technologies to achieve the next level of business excellence.
Whether you realize it or not, AI and Big Data are going to be major drivers of differentiation for the BFSI industry in the future. Why? Because the industry relies heavily on data to make business decisions. Consider this – what if a computer could analyze all your company’s data and learn about customer behavior and preferences? It’s very powerful, to say the least.
Chatbots were inevitable with the coming of AI. The ability to simulate and mimic a human being holds potential like none other – it can empower businesses to offer customer service like never before – purely automated, consistent, and accurate. Ameyo recently launched its own chatbot – Genie – as part of its revolutionary Fusion CX Customer Experience Platform to assist customers with a human touch and resolve queries in a much better fashion.
Not just chatbots, many industry experts consider Robo Advisory to be the future of banking automation. Believe it or not, many top financial institutions are already using robo-advisors to handle customer queries, including Canara Bank and HDFC Bank.
True Power Lies in Knowing a Customer and His Needs
You’ve probably heard it countless times – Know Thy Customer. Even Steve Jobs mentioned the importance of ‘getting as close to customers as possible’. Truth is – if you’re a modern business, think like a customer. True power lies in knowing what a customer needs even before they ask for it.
At the OPEX in BFSI Summit held in Mumbai, CX Evangelist Rahul Zutshi commented on the importance of knowing a customer: “Do you really know your customer? What product he was using? Were there any open cases? Was he angry or sad? Or how many times he tried to reach out to you, and through what channels did he arrive?”
Many businesses strive to improve KPIs and achieve operational excellence. But is it enough to satisfy the needs of a modern consumer? We say no. It all boils down to The Two Factor Theory by Frederick Herzberg to measure employee satisfaction, however, it works for customers as well.
Essentially, the theory considers motivation and hygiene as two major factors for job satisfaction. Motivational factors include skill development and recognition, whereas hygiene factors include salary and work conditions. Now, if a workplace is not hygienically fit for an employee, it would cause dissatisfaction. However, improving hygiene factors won’t necessarily improve employee satisfaction. On the other hand, improving upon motivational factors would surely increase satisfaction.
The same concept applies to customer experience. Let me explain. A motivational factor would include getting that query resolved in the least time possible without any hassles, whereas a hygiene factor would be something along the lines of connecting to a customer service representative via IVR to resolve a query. Thus, improving the ability to connect to an agent via IVR won’t necessarily help in improving the experience, but improving the chances of getting the query resolved in the fastest time possible would definitely improve customer experience.
“What was good customer experience yesterday has become essential hygiene today,” Zutshi remarked.
Why? Because the modern customer demands more. Businesses should anticipate the demands of customers by knowing more about them and their needs, and not just focus on improving upon KPIs. And, if a business can satisfy these demands and deliver an excellent experience while doing it, they’ve got a loyal customer.
Did you attend OPEX in BFSI 2017? What did you learn from the conference? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
