Five Steps to CX Success in Finance

In the intricate world of finance, there are a myriad of challenges influencing how financial organisations operate and serve customer needs. The emergence of challenger brands, new regulations like Consumer Duty and changing customer demands have caused waves in the market. Changes in consumer behaviour brought on by the expected waning of the high interest rate environment and the ongoing cost of living crisis add to the uncertainty in the medium term. Companies are doubling down on digital transformation and support automation, but many are flying blind to the impact on their customers. 

With the current host of challenges facing financial institutions, how can they ensure they are serving the needs of their customers, above and beyond the competition, whilst simultaneously protecting their bottom line? The answer is to prioritise customer experience (CX). Indeed, recent research from Medallia revealed that CX leaders are 26 times more likely than laggards to experience revenue growth of 20 percent or more over the past fiscal year.

As competitive dynamics continue to shift, cementing a flawless CX journey is now vital for financial institutions to keep pace with consumer demand. With this in mind, here are the five best ways to ensure a successful CX journey.  

1. Embracing AI

Financial institutions must take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) when it comes to creating a successful CX journey. Recent advancements in AI offer the ability for financial organisations to enhance their operations, leveraging its capacity to swiftly navigate through extensive customer datasets. Financial institutions can harness AI to convert raw data into actionable insights, streamline customer interactions, and enhance staff efficiency through personalised training. 

Ultimately, AI is a critical, omnipresent force that is shaping interactions across channels and touchpoints. Financial institutions would therefore be remiss to not integrate AI into their CX offering.

2. Utilising unified analytics

It’s essential for financial institutions to utilise unified analytics across all omnichannel behaviours and customer feedback. Any worthy CX programme should comprehend complete customer journeys to gain insights at an organisational level and facilitate personalised experiences at the human level. This approach can go a long way in making sure customers feel valued, as their CX journey is completely tailored according to their needs.

Analysing both verbal and behavioural signals provides deep insights into the quality of CX. Rather than being reactive, organisations armed with this information can proactively enhance customer satisfaction. While highlighting satisfaction and NPS improvements, emphasis should be placed on tangible business outcomes. By consolidating customer, operational, and behavioural data, organisations can derive impactful insights that correlate customer experience with financial and business outcomes. The best way to garner all of this information is to have a dedicated unified analytics tool ready and available to collate all the necessary customer data for financial institutions.

3. Capturing customer signals

According to research from CustomerGauge, the churn rate for customers in the financial industry is as high as 81 percent in 2024. In order to aid customer retention, financial institutions need to rely on dependable signal capturing.

Capturing signals comprehensively across all customer interactions with a brand is crucial. While surveys provide some insights, relying solely on them leaves significant gaps in understanding the full picture when it comes to CX. Signal capturing should be holistic, and encompass web and app behaviour, chat messaging, employee feedback, social media interactions, and even contact centre conversations. Integrating these diverse sources into a unified experience platform will help financial institutions avoid misinterpreting customer needs and preferences.

4. Empowering employees to act on feedback 

Across any finance organisation, employees, as the face of a brand, bear the responsibility of crafting experiences that impress customers. They also are the ones who are closest to the customer and can spot trends amongst their feedback, as well as apply necessary human empathy to situations that require it. Organisations must aspire for employees to be engaged, motivated, and content, and it is essential to mirror these sentiments within customer interactions.

Any business that integrates both customer and employee experience strategies often emerges as an industry leader. Beyond merely attracting and retaining customers, they also cultivate a work environment conducive to retaining top talent—a cornerstone for sustained growth in any business.

There are many ways that organisations can achieve this. Actionable feedback, for example, the kind that empowers employees, is invaluable—they glean insights from it and take initiatives that ultimately benefit the organisation as a whole, and feel more satisfied and engaged with the organisation in the process. For instance, if frontline agents discover customer challenges with a mobile app, sharing this feedback beyond the contact centre with marketing and app development teams allows for optimisation. CX should transcend organisational silos, fostering improved experiences throughout.

5. Personalising customer journeys  

Finally, it’s integral for any financial institution to personalise any customer journey. Indeed, according to Medallia’s research, companies with top customer experience programmes are twice as likely to prioritise personalising the customer experience across interactions.

Put simply, personalisation enables brands to assure customers that they understand the value of being treated as an individual. Being offered a personalised customer experience feels like the brand knows (and cares about) customers wants and needs.

Customer journey mapping is one demonstrable example of how financial organisations can personalise the customer journey. This entails identifying every touchpoint that customers could potentially encounter with a brand, and then ensuring that each interaction is optimised for a positive CX. During this process, CX practitioners identify potential issues or areas requiring improvement within the customer journey. By addressing identified issues and seizing opportunities, businesses can enhance the overall CX and improve customer retention.

It’s evident that excellence in service delivery is no longer an option but a requisite for thriving in today's competitive landscape. There are fortunately a variety of ways that financial institutions can create an impactful CX journey. Whether it's through embracing AI, unified analytics, signal capturing, employee feedback, or personalised customer journeys, financial institutions can chart a course toward sustainable success. 

By prioritising customer-centric strategies and leveraging technology to its fullest, financial organisations can forge deeper connections, build trust, and foster loyalty among their clientele. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing these principles will not only drive growth but also ensure resilience in an ever-changing market environment.