5 things to consider when choosing a conversational banking solution to scale your support model
It was rare to find a bank with an intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) a few years ago. However, the pandemic reshaped the way customers engage with digital goods, including their banking institutions. As consumers’ expectations around digital experiences continue to evolve and adapt, organizations strive to create seamless omnichannel customer experiences. According to Salesforce, 77 percent of customers have used a company’s website to make purchases, while 75 percent have used a mobile app. However, nearly one-third of customers would prefer to interact with an agent over the phone.
These consumer behaviors and preferences present a unique opportunity for banks and credit unions to engage their customers at every touchpoint. A Conversational Banking solution can help financial institutions tackle this challenge head-on. Unfortunately, not all solutions meet customer expectations. So, what criteria should financial institutions use when choosing a conversational banking solution? Read on to discover some of the issues that you should consider.
1. Does the solution facilitate authentic “human-like” conversations?
When you think about how people are living today, with the proliferation of smartphones and voice assistants, it is evident that the world has become much more conversational. Therefore, it is essential that your chosen conversational banking solution allows customers to obtain answers and conversationally execute banking actions—as if they were talking to a teller. Besides understanding customer intents and executing queries based on the context of the conversation, a good intelligent virtual assistant should also sound natural to mimic the warm-and-fuzzy feeling customers get in your branches.
2. Is the solution practical and easy to manage?
It is essential to provide a frictionless experience for banking customers. However, since bank employees also interact with the backend system daily, your conversational banking solution should lighten their workload. The solution should provide a low-code or no-code environment so the management group, including marketing and customer experience teams, can onboard and manage the platform without a dedicated technical expert. The portal’s usability is critical so that team members can work effortlessly to make the daily management process easy.
3. What system does the solution connect into?
Before adopting a conversational banking platform, a key consideration is whether it can be integrated into your existing tech stack and compatible with your banking core system. The solution should not be a stand-alone application but an integrated set of capabilities that can transform your entire customer journey. The tool should plug into your existing ecosystem so that you can continue to leverage the tech investment already in place, with no significant overhauls needed.
4. What channels does the system offer for your customers?
The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards conversational tools and omnichannel access. The next generation of banking customers expects to find information or execute financial decisions anywhere and anytime, regardless of their device. As the most convenient banking method, conversation banking solutions should meet customers where they are, no matter which channel they choose to interact with their bank. It should also allow users to traverse channels throughout a given conversation or skill, providing flexibility to complete tasks on a more optimal channel
5. What compliance certifications or data security measures are provided for?
A conversational banking solution worth considering should have proven data security measures to protect your customer’s personal and financial information. It is worth going a bit deeper and truly considering how hardened the solution is relative to the requirements set by your regulator. For example, how is data stored during transit and at rest? What’s the data governance protocol for the service company?
Intelligent virtual assistants continue to rise in popularity and provide instant access for consumers. Conversational banking is a natural extension of the customer’s digital journey that can power all of your services, utilizing AI, and surface them wherever the customer prefers to bank. Secure and accessible from any channel as part of the frictionless and personalized customer journey, Directlink is the cutting-edge leader in conversational banking for community banks and credit unions. Directlink can help you elevate your customer experience and satisfaction while allowing your teams to focus on higher-value services. Get started with a demo today.
A division of IMS, Inc. — a leader in transactional communications — Directlink has become a first-of-its-kind AI-powered conversational banking platform. Directlink has leveraged the knowledge gained over the past 35 years to help deliver digital transformation through the deployment and management of intelligent virtual assistants across new and traditional channels for financial institutions of all shapes and sizes.
Reference: Mulcahy, S. (n.d.). State of the Connected Customer. Salesforce. https://a.sfdcstatic.com/content/dam/www/ocms/assets/pdf/service-cloud/state-of-connected-customer.pdf
