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The financial services industry has been a consistent leader in providing online services to its customers. The industry acknowledged the arrival of Web self-service years ago and has been a key driver of its adoption across other industries. These customers, or "Internet consumers," have led the revolution of no longer relying on the phone or branch for service and instead using online service options.
Self-Service—Bang for your Buck
Statistically speaking, the truth is in the numbers: enterprises who offer self-service claim an average 15% to 25% deflection of inbound calls. Based on industry standard costs of $25 per phone call and a conservative estimate of 200 calls per day, companies can achieve annual savings of at least $200,000 when 15% of calls are deflected. Industry experts state that the self-service channel will more than double by 2010 to over 2 billion interactions1 in accordance with the increasing trend of Internet-savvy consumers who demand service 24x7 across channels.
Bank Leumi is one of the largest banks in Israel and the first company of any kind in Israel to adopt a comprehensive, automated, intelligent self-service solution for its customers. With an international network of 300 branches offering a full range of banking and financial services, the bank realized that with the growing number of products and services they offer to customers, they needed to stem the rising costs of service.
In addition to self-service, the bank implemented KANA's electronic service options including automated email management, live collaboration over the Web and assisted service. They deployed these solutions in 45 days and the bank measured call avoidance at 17% and an increase in customer base of 15%-20% without any additional agents.
Give Them What They Want, When They Want It
Benchmark Portal has stated that the key to effective self-service is to "provide services that are simple and used frequently by customers...and provide seamless agent-assisted service, if needed."2 It's important to offer seamless channel integration for customers in order to provide a true multi-channel customer experience. According to an early 2006 DestinationCRM poll, 33% of CIOs across all industries will deploy a chat offering in 2006, higher than any other service channel. Why is this?
Chat and co-browse functionality gives your customer the option to interact with you on their terms, when, where and at their own pace. Whether visiting a website for bill pay, product/service information or completing a mortgage application, consumers want real-time answers and assistance. Companies offering chat and co-browse realize multiple benefits including increased application/shopping cart completion rates, decrease in phone call escalations and very high customer satisfaction rates.3
Wachovia Bank uses chat on their website to assist customers with mortgage applications and questions. Wachovia gets about 10% of its mortgage business from the Web and since deploying chat (KANA Response Live), Wachovia has reported a 25% increase in mortgage close rates.4 Self-service with chat and co-browse offer a tremendous opportunity to drive revenue through existing customers while improving overall satisfaction levels. Assisting customers on pages of your site that have the potential to generate revenue will not only increase sales, but increase customer and brand loyalty. Benchmark Portal has estimated that customers with one product/service have a loyalty rate of only 20%, whereas those with three products have a 50% rate and those with five products have a 90% loyalty rate.
Let Me Help You With That...
In an industry where products and services have become similar across competitors, it's critical to do everything you can to keep a captive customer. Financial services companies can build brand and customer loyalty by staying ahead of the service curve and providing the latest technology solutions that customers are demanding: chat and co-browse.
Anand Chopra brings 10 years of sales, marketing and consulting experience to KANA. As director of product marketing, Chopra is responsible for driving effective marketing programs and creating strategies for advancing the KANA eService Solutions in the marketplace. Prior to joining KANA in 2003, he held instrumental positions at leading companies such as Oracle, Commerce One and Ernst & Young, LLP.
To introduce you to the topic further, KANA has authored a white paper titled "Increase Customer Self-Service Success with KANA Web Collaboration" that discusses best practices for deploying a chat and co-browse solution. The white paper is available at www.kana.com/resourcecenter.php
1 "US Customer Service Forecast, 2005-2010" JupiterResearch, September, 2005.
2 Webinar: "Integrating Customer Contact Channels," Benchmark Portal, April, 2006
3 ibid.
4 "Customer Tactics" Banking Technology News, August 2005