Hiring a contact center for financial services
For several decades, call centers have helped financial services companies to manage interactions with customers who have questions or concerns about their accounts. In recent years, these contact centers have evolved to improve the customer experience, overcoming many of the drawbacks of a phone call.
It is precisely the customer experience that makes the difference, since, according to a Forrester study, financial services companies that were leaders in CX were also the ones with the highest trust index, a basic factor for this industry. Hence the importance of choosing a contact center that can offer the best experience.
Services a contact center can offer and its advantages in financial companies
One of the advantages of using a contact center for financial services is to expand service capacity, such as being able to provide 24/7 support, offer multilingual assistance, and scale up or down depending on customer demand.
Contact centers can also help companies save money by reducing the need for on-site customer service staff. In addition, they can help improve customer satisfaction by providing a higher level of service than with staff at the bank or offices only.
Contact centers can be in-house or outsourced to a third-party provider (BPO). In-house contact centers are typically managed by large financial services companies with complex customer service needs, allowing full control over customer service operations and a more personalized experience. However, they also require significant upfront investment and can be more difficult to scale.
Outsourced contact centers are a good option for small and medium-sized companies that want to save costs. They are managed by third-party providers who specialize in customer service, are typically more flexible and can be easily scaled up or down to meet their needs. However, they offer less control over the quality of service and may not be able to offer the same level of personalization.
Choosing the right contact center for your financial services company
Perhaps the most important factor to choose is the size of the contact center. For example, a small business may not need the same level of support as a large corporation.
If the company has customers in multiple time zones, it is better if the contact center can offer 24-hour support. Lastly, you will need to compare costs and services to find the best value for your company. If you take all these factors into account, you can be sure to choose the right contact center for your company’s needs.
Expenses are also an important factor: The biggest expense is usually labor, which can account for the majority of the total budget. Other major expenses include facilities, technology and training.
To reduce costs, many financial services companies outsource their contact centers. However, this strategy has its own challenges, such as language barriers and cultural differences. Therefore, it is critical that the selected BPO can provide high-quality customer service that meets or exceeds customer expectations.
By investing in employee training and development, financial services companies will be able to ensure that their contact centers provide the best possible service at a reasonable cost.
Tips for optimizing contact center performance
Customers expect faster and more efficient service. Just as they are no longer willing to wait in line at the bank and prefer to do their transactions from an app, the time spent on hold on a phone line can be a determining factor in choosing another financial service.
Despite the evolution of apps to meet the demands of users, online chats and phone calls are still the main customer service link in terms of financial services, especially for the most urgent operations. While originally focused on banking data or account statement updates, they are now more focused on telemarketing services such as insurance offers, bank loans or personalized consulting. That’s why it’s important to optimize performance in contact centers. Here are some tips:
1. Make sure that agents are properly trained. They should be familiar with your products or services and know how to solve common customer problems. Closely monitoring agent performance and providing them with regular feedback will help identify areas for improvement and make the necessary adjustments.
2. Provide agents with the tools they need to succeed. This includes a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system, an up-to-date knowledge base and access to real-time customer data.
3. Offer customers choices in different channels so they can choose their preferred one. This includes the ability to offer them the ability to solve their problems themselves. ATMs are the proof that it works and saves on customer service costs.
4. Customer Experience should be focused on improving customer trust with the company. Protection of sensitive data should be a high priority and should rely on the latest technology.