Customer focus at the heart of fintech product design
The high volume of direct contact that customer services has puts them in a unique position to understand what customers want and how new products are working. A culture of innovation should be embraced by the whole organisation if this feedback can be actioned in a timely manner.
PUBLISHED: 21 OCTOBER 2019
AUTHOR: FINTECH CIRCLE
The internet has put the customer in control which has evolved into a buyer’s market with low friction switching from one provider to another becoming standard. Digital touch points can automate personalised products delivered when and where the customer wants.
Starting the transformation around customer-centric design can be done using consumer journey models by taking a walk in their shoes. The full sum of experiences that can lead to a transaction can be documented and analysed.
The omni-channel banking ecosystem of branch, website, social media, app and email increases many times over when including partner channels as seen with collaborative schemes such as Starling’s Marketplace.
In most cases during a customer’s journey through these channels they will drop out before entering into an agreement or sale. As banks and insurance companies digitally transform, the profiles of potential customers can take shape through online engagements and inquiries.
For existing customers banks are able to forecast patterns from an unprecedented level of access to data, such as income, outgoings and savings. As branches continue to close while digital adoption rises, so does the opportunity to fit the product to the individual.
Sharon Scott, Product Owner – Digital Platforms & Capabilities at Tesco Bank explains, “We use digital at the heart of our product design by monitoring usage, engagement and behaviours through our digital channels. We use a number of online tools to involve our customers in the product design process from ideation right through to design, build and testing. We also have customers coming into our offices to help shape product propositions and digital services to ensure we’re delivering exactly what they need to manage their money and to meet their expectations from our brand.”
The empathy of the human touch can be matched and improved with a digital service that can deliver more quickly and accurately. The ease of which the customer can get what they want online generates the feel good factor. The days of making an appointment in a branch with a sales person are finally in decline.
To design and implement personalised products and services that are continuously shipped and updated doesn’t always mean reinventing the wheel. Customer facing roles in contact centres where employees help to solve problems and answer inquiries can accumulate a treasure trove of CRM data and insights from staff on the front line.
The high volume of direct contact that customer services has, puts them in a unique position to understand what customers want and how new products are performing. A culture of innovation should be embraced by the whole organisation if this feedback can be actioned in a timely manner.
While customer journeys can be digitally tracked and improved, a conversation between the Head of Digital and a New Customer Services agent can also lead to the delivery of better customer experience.
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