7 tips to improve customer interaction in banking

Latinia, manufacturer of financial events analysis and processing software for banking, today highlights the importance of adopting not only channels but also levels of service that are appropriate to the demands of its customers. "It is not a question of incorporating channels to incorporate them, but of offering a level of service quality that meets customer expectations: the opposite results in bad customer experiences and they wonder," why does my bank say that I can communicate with it through this channel when it does not work properly? During the pandemic and as a result of the different levels of preventive isolation, financial institutions experienced an acceleration in their digitization in order to meet the requirements of their customers.

Covid-19 is promoting the digital transformation process in banking at an accelerated rate, in just a couple of months it broke with the implementation dynamics that it had assumed in recent years. In the way the bank acts at the moment; will depend to a large extent, its operation in the immediate future.

For Oriol Ros, director of corporate development at Latinia, “Once the Covid-19 arrived, the banks tried with great speed to transmit their financial relief announcements through channels such as social networks, which was obviously where most of their clients live . The lack of a real dimension in the massive response on the part of the users, caused that they were not able to respond through that same channel, to each one of their requests ”.

"At this time when the bank is diverting attention to non-contact channels, and to the extent that there is still a group of consumers who may see their service options restricted, it is a good time to intensify knowledge in the use of new virtual channels , particularly the Apps and their real-time notification services, which will allow the user an immediate follow-up of everything that happens in their finances without leaving home, on this occasion, for reasons of mayor force”, said Ros.

Latinia recommends that banks take into account the following considerations when implementing their different interaction channels:

1. The customer changed : It must be assumed that Covid-19 is the main transformation factor in banking, even above the appearance of new players in the financial sector. The customer changed and now he expects his bank to offer him an authentic experience when he visits it, regardless of the channel or the format, as is happening in other sectors.

2. The application is the bank: The App that people have on their cell phone represents the same office and a good experience represents the best advertising, at the best cost, because a satisfied customer is in charge of actively expressing it with their circle of contacts.

3. Behavioral profiling customers: Segmentations based on socioeconomic elements are not the only valid ones now; Covid-19 shows that customers of different ages and / or socioeconomic conditions may feel and need the same way of relating and interacting with their bank, so the customer's behavior should be considered rather than the socioeconomic segment to which they belong .

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4. Integrated service: There is no single type of channel to communicate with customers. The bank must be integrated and connected, so the client can make a request through a social network, and receive the response in their email.

5. Action plan: Resume conversations with technology manufacturers to incorporate structural solutions in the medium and long term and thus adequately meet the requirements of online channels and services.

6. The branches: Despite being questioned by the digital trend, branches are still places that some users prefer to feel that their bank is active in and have an active presence in the market.

7. Reputation: The bank represents an asset of trust and credibility for its clients, it is a 'great bunker' that protects people's data and money. Finally, it is a great trust store.

For a long time there was a slow technological evolution and it concentrated mainly on serving the target population such as millennials or centennials, and also excluded senior clients among others, due to their excessive cost in training and online education. This meant a short term challenge for banks to improve their costumer interaction.  Latinia recently conducted a survey of 500 executives in the sector in 16 Latin American countries and Spain and one of its great conclusions was that 64% of people considered that Covid-19 will contribute to promoting delayed decision-making in banks. The measurement also found that banks should primarily promote the creation of more channels with customers and digital payments in the face of the acceleration in the disappearance of cash.