The BFSI sector in the Middle East is evolving quickly with CX and DX alignment having kicked in with real magnitude in the last year.
Whilst the need to be customer-centric at all times remains paramount, the channels through which the customer is being serviced are changing.
There had been a lot of buzz around digital CX in the last few years, during the pandemic the digital onboarding, digital activations came into the limelight. Yet, with all the innovative transformation and digital CX implementation – BFSIs in the Middle East region are only scratching the surface.
So, what’s in store for CX in the BFSI sector? Let's examine this.
COVID definitely fast-tracked the digital CX in BFSIs
The pandemic fast-tracked the pace of digital transformation in all industries and BFSI was no different. BFSIs that were looking at 3-year project timelines to digitize their CX, had to fast track and be ready in a matter of months, with some decisions being taken in haste. However, a lot of banks now need to finalise their long-term DX and CX strategy.
3 options BFSIs are considering when evaluating the long term CX and DX strategy rollout are:
Setting up whole different divisions so they don’t have to rely on legacy systems when driving the transformation
Partnering with fintechs to be agile and responsive to service the customer and find a faster way to market
Keep going the old-fashioned way, not pushing DX and CX with force
Most banks are looking to go to market with a transformed digital CX and are partnering with fintechs.
Very few companies cater to negative scenarios even today.
Most CX journeys are designed for a happy path. But when a customer is stuck and needs assistance, they go in the physical direction. There has been a lot of progress in the BFSI sector, with some players having gone the full yard, yet several players are still relying on a lot of phone calls, emails, and a lot of physical interactions. So, whilst it looks good on the outside, ensuring a seamless service design and end-to-end process is not there yet. And that is where the great opportunity lies in the Middle East.
- AndreaPrazakova, Senior Vice President Customer Experience, Mastercard
Trends driving DCX post the pandemic
1. Human Experience or HX
Human Experience or HX is gathering momentum, with a holistic provision for people experience, process experience and digital experience. Thus, empathy must be the guiding force when serving customers and understanding their particular circumstances. BFSIs have been guilty of seeing the customer as data on a screen or an email. This needs to change. They must move away from “we’ll treat you as a number” to dealing with customers on an empathetic level to ensure they don’t lose them to a competitor.
2. Low call volumes and higher email enquiry rate
Another trend that sprung during COVID was reduction in calls and customers preferring to contact by email. Thus, when agents cannot see the customer, feeling the empathy becomes extremely difficult as there is no facial expression or voice tone guiding you. To deliver great Human Experience the BFSIs cannot focus on the customer alone, there is a need for rigorous change management involving retraining of staff who are speaking and dealing with the customer, so they can learn how to be more empathetic.
3. Re- looking at agent KPIs – Agents’ KPIs need to be redesigned. The focus has shifted from how many calls they have to make or receive in a day to “how do I really feel for the customer and resolve their issues. This is especially important in the finance industry where so many customers have lost their jobs during the pandemic, and can’t pay their bills. CX Leaders in the BFSI sector have had to showcase agility in coming up with new ideas and programs to help customers, especially those that have been with the bank for a very long time.
Next: Importance of Change management. Read on.
