Why Financial Institutions Need an Industry-Specific Approach to Benchmarking Customer Interactions

It’s no secret that customer interactions are the new battleground for loyalty. In this ‘always on’ world, it’s easier than ever before for consumers, who are always searching for the best possible experience, to switch providers. Most of us have done this in our own personal lives with some company or other. But this is particularly critical for banks and credit unions, who are increasingly being compared to digital-native leaders in retail, ecommerce and other sectors.

For years, institutions have been continually adding customer channels such as chat, mobile apps and online portals to compete. However, while adding modern capabilities such as these is necessary, it is insufficient. Continuing to live in a world where one team handles phone calls, another does digital engagements and still another team is working on AI solutions is the definition of a channel-centric approach. The strategy of adding channels that don’t connect with one another–and in fact were “bolted-on” to the existing customer service framework–leads to inconsistent experiences, inefficiencies and lack of visibility across the institution. Simply put, channels are killing the bottom line.

To overcome this challenge, banks and credit unions must execute their customer interactions differently by finding a more holistic, unified way to measure the value of their thousands of interactions. The problem is, measuring customer experience alone has proven to be insufficient for directly correlating interactions to tangible business outcomes. There historically has not been a comprehensive way to define and measure value created by an organization’s customer interactions.

One recent approach is a collaboration between Qualtrics, Bain and Kantar. In their CX Global Standards, they are proposing the establishment of a new global standard for benchmarking CX. While this is great in theory, their proposed standards are extraordinarily high-level, both academic and aspirational. These proposed standards read more like a checklist of ideals–which is admirable–but lacks an actionable mechanism for organizations to benchmark against their closest peers and enact positive change.

Instead, the financial services industry needs a concrete way for financial institutions to evaluate their performance against similar banks and credit unions. It must be FI-specific; after all, understanding how a bank or credit union compares to a niche online retailer isn’t relevant or productive. Key elements of efficiency, effectiveness and experience should be measured in a more holistic way. Any new metric or index needs to assess how organizations compare in how they balance AI versus human interactions, and voice versus digital. These are the most critical issues facing FIs in today’s hyper-competitive environment, and these factors need to be measured and compared, rather than just aspired to.

What’s needed is a tool that allows banks and credit unions to validate which elements of value they are performing well in, and where they are lagging behind competitors–providing a rare, powerful opportunity for introspection and realignment.

In today’s interaction economy, customer interactions are where loyalty and revenue are made and lost. Comparing your interaction strategies against industry agnostic, vague benchmarks might inspire productive conversations, but that’s not enough to connect your interaction strategy to the business outcomes that matter most to your senior executives.

Organizations that will succeed going forward will need to find benchmarking tools that are industry specific, based on analysis of billions of customer interactions and provide meaningful data. This will provide a more modern, detailed understanding of the value created by customer interactions across all forms of communication and collaboration, ultimately empowering banks and credit unions to enhance their strategy and future proof their organizations.

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