Human touch: resetting the digital customer experience (DCX)

July 2021 | FEATURE | BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

Financier Worldwide Magazine

July 2021 Issue

In a rapidly digitalising world, it is easy for organisations processing multiple digital transactions to lose sight of what is surely the most important aspect of their business: the human.

Such inattentiveness is an accusation often laid at the door of the banking sector, an environment providing a largely instantaneous digital customer experience (DCX) but which also, in the view of many, lacks the human touch.

“With the number of high street branches declining, customers have, in many cases, little choice but to use digital channels,” says Mario Kyriacou, co-founder of Ratio Partners. “For those customers less comfortable with the use of digital, it is debatable if the new digital experience is entirely comparable with the experience they may have once obtained from a local bank manager.”

Compounding the issue is the fact that many banks are unsure how to incorporate the human experience within the scope of digital services. A high street branch has a human customer-facing team regularly interacting directly with customers, whereas in the digital space, there is no obvious equivalent.

“While artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being positioned as the brains behind digital services, it is fair to say that humanising DCX is a new frontier,” suggests Mr Kyriacou. “For many organisations, this is an area they have yet to understand, let alone know how to respond to.”

Boiled down, in order to keep pace with a fast-moving digital economy and avoid falling behind competitors, it is critical for organisations, particularly financial institutions such as banks, to humanise their customer experience.

Key strategies

Of course, the best DCX strategy is one that is guided by human insights – a strategy that is authentic, with a people-focused core in which all interactions are individual.

According to Snigdha Patel, deputy manager at REVE Chat, specific strategies can help organisations humanise DCX. These include making the business customer-centric, understanding every touch point of the customer journey, not overusing AI, making design the hub of the digital experience journey, delivering consistent customer experience across all touch points, collecting customer feedback regularly, making the right use of data, and humanising the brand image.

“Boiled down, in order to keep pace with a fast-moving digital economy and avoid falling behind competitors, it is critical for organisations, particularly financial institutions such as banks, to humanise their customer experience.”

“With new technological advancements such as AI and machine learning, where organisations are being data-driven, the fact should not be ignored that human touch is very important,” believes Ms Patel. “Nothing can replace human interaction for providing a comprehensive customer experience.

“Customer experience has become as important as the product itself,” she adds. “At the current time, customers do not want to be served; rather, they want to be delighted by the overall experience. Creating a positive customer experience is imperative to survive and meet rising consumer expectations.”

Also important is differentiation. “Standing out in a crowded market and competing on something can be just as valuable as price,” adds Mr Kyriacou. “Customers are people at the end of the day, and everyone appreciates good service, but they love great service even more and therein lies the challenge for many companies.”

DCX and COVID-19

Over the past 18 months, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an overwhelming impact on business and society across the globe, forcing many sectors to reframe their DCX thinking in order to better engage with customers.

A report by McKinsey & Company – ‘Adapting customer experience in the time of coronavirus’ – suggests there are four key actions organisations can take to address immediate customer needs and prepare for the post-pandemic world. First, focus on care and concern. Second, meet your customers where they are. Third, reimagine the customer experience for a post-COVID-19 world. Fourth, build agile capabilities for fluid times.

“Having no choice but to engage customers via digital channels has meant businesses are spending a lot of time thinking deeply about the value and relevancy of the actions they share with their audience,” says Mr Kyriacou. “Everyone is in the same boat, and it is the sectors and organisations that focus on these actions that will make the breakthrough.

“Organisations have had a torrid 12 months, but customers even more so,” he continues. “The organisations that are succeeding are the ones that have recognised how their customers’ lives have been disrupted and have offered solutions and pivoted to help meet these new challenges.”

Humans, not robots

With the world hurtling toward ever greater digitalisation, it is essential that banking sector organisations take the time to not only develop a DCX strategy but imbue them with a human touch when doing so.

“Whether customers like it or not, a great many of the services and products they purchase will be via digital,” notes Mr Kyriacou. “The challenge for organisations chasing the perceived profit incentives of going digital-first is to not lose sight that you are dealing with humans and not robots.

“Always focus on the customer, their needs and their challenges,” he concludes. “Let the goal be to focus on providing value and being a relevant force for good.”

Fraser Tennant