Transforming Communication Key For Banks & Insurers

While there may be a shift back to face-to-face interactions as the pandemic subsides, companies must use the opportunity to get ahead of consumer expectations

Digitisation has changed the way companies in the finance sector communicate with their customers through an increased number of communication channels. The shift has necessitated a veritable change in communication strategies, as the traditional communication mediums are no longer enough.

To discuss the change in customer habits and what it means for organisations, ET and Exotel organised a webinar on ‘Reimagining Customer Communication for Financial Services Industry’. Attended by top leaders of the finance sector, the discussion was moderated by Alokesh Bhattacharyya, Senior Editor, ET and Suchetana Ray, Senior Assistant Editor, ET.

With digitisation, the touchpoints that potential customers may encounter have drastically increased. Companies are aware that an effective digital marketing strategy should involve these touchpoints, with perhaps a different one for each of the available channels. However, the transformation has challenges of its own. “There is one type of client who is concerned about data privacy and security in sharing his credentials. The other is the customer who only trusts face-to-face interactions,” explained Shivakumar Ganesan, CEO & Co-Founder, Exotel.

The finance sector – till the pandemic hit us – relied heavily on face-to-face interaction with the customer. But there has been a paradigm shift in the way communication now happens. “COVID-19 has pushed us to communicate seamlessly with our clients digitally. Customers don’t need to visit the branch anymore. They can avail solutions online at any time of the day,” said Rohit Ambosta, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

For a smoother connect, Axis Bank, recently announced the deployment of a conversational banking solution. Customers can chat with the bank via WhatsApp on the go. “We built CRM into the devices of our employees and asked them to connect with the customers to find out how they were doing. That simple connect helped us to improve our customer experience in two weeks by an unprecedented seven percentage point,” said Ratan Kesh, EVP & Head of Retail Operations and Service, Axis Bank.

In the era of complete virtual interactions, hyper-personalisation is slated to be a game-changer. Anand Pejawar, President-Operations, IT & International Business, SBI Life Insurance said, “We are working on a system to do sentimental analysis. For example, if a customer is irritated on a call with an executive, the CRM notes the reasons for him getting upset. Any channel who wants to communicate with the customer – sales, marketing, or call centre – will have access to the centralised data where they would know what the previous communication was so that the next level of communication becomes refined.”

A central hub is, in fact, necessary to support truly frictionless communication. “We are implementing a common customer communication engine, which along with CRM links to a common data platform. The idea is to not only capture the communication but also understand how the customer is responding to the communication,” said Suhail Ghai, EVP (IT) & CTO, Max Life Insurance.

The panel agreed upon the increasing role of AI in marketing and communication strategies and how advanced AI can provide richer real-time personalisation. While email remains a preferred mode of communication for many, chatbots are appreciated for their ability to provide quick answers to simple questions. However, what’s missing is the capability to quickly escalate chat interactions and speak to person for more complicated inquiries.

Talking about the customer preference in the mode of communication, Prakarsh Gagdani, CEO, 5Paisa.com said, “There is no doubt AI is useful and important, but we can’t do away with the need for human interaction especially in our country. Companies need to identify why the customer wants that human interaction and work for a solution.” He, however, also warned about the hazards of digitisation. “We need to spend more on data privacy and cyber security not only for customers but also for organisational safety.”