Reinforce your banking acquisition strategy with strong customer service

Banking customer acquisition is an increasingly competitive aspect of financial services. The democratization of the banking sector due to fintech companies and neobanks means the playing field has been leveled.

The knock-on effect of this (aside from higher customer acquisition costs) is that potential customers are more critical of their financial services providers, particularly in the early stages. In fact, many potential new customers abandon online application processes because they consider it to be too difficult.

What does this mean for retail banks?

While it is important to explore banking ideas to get new customers, this cannot come at the expense of strong communication options at all stages of the customer journey.

As soon as a potential customer hits a snag in the process, your team needs to be on hand to offer the best service possible. Not only will this improve the conversion process completion rate, but it also sets expectations as the relationship develops to ensure customer loyalty.

Conversational AI for customer acquisition in banking

Conversational AI refers to technologies that draw on extensive data to imitate human interactions and offer valuable support. At Unblu, we extend that definition to include the use of a Live Chat channel, which is a direct line with a real person. It may appear to be a simple setup, but it is exceptionally strong in banking customer acquisition and in maintaining satisfaction afterwards.

Digital experience: Personal connection is key

An Accenture study found that by taking steps to build meaningful relationships with their customers, banks or financial institutions could increase revenue from primary customers by up to 20%. However, the same report claims that digital channels are not entirely helpful in forging these all-important connections.

Customers want a balance between digital capabilities and access to human support when needed. Once a person has made a decision, for example, the process should be as smooth as possible. A reported 85% of individuals who apply for digital products online drop out mid-journey.

Banca Dello Stato: Improving customer support channels

Before you can leverage Conversational AI to improve customer acquisition, you first need to ensure that you have the processes in place to address current customer needs.

For example, the problem that many banks and financial institutions face on the customer service side is too much strain on traditional service channels. This is exactly what the Swiss Banca Dello Stato was contending with before launching a diversification initiative.

The bank had three main objectives:

As a result of implementing Unblu’s conversational engagement platform, the team was able to boost the efficiency and quality of the interactions. A total of 20% of the incoming calls were diverted to the Live Chat channel, with each agent able to handle two conversations simultaneously. With a seven minute Live Chat AHT, that meant each customer found a resolution in roughly three and a half minutes.

Raiffeisenbank: Turning support into sales

The Prague retail bank Raiffeisenbank faced a similar challenge, with many of their 1,400,000 customers choosing traditional means of contacting support when they require help. Eager to maintain their reputation as a top digital customer service provider with a strong mobile banking offering, Raiffeisenbank sought to reduce the burden on their contact centers. Their approach was to defect phone calls to other channels.

Taking support further

With positive feedback from customers on the banking experience and an increase in efficiency, Raiffeisenbank decided to take the initiative further by trying to boost customer conversions.

They used insights from Live Chat and phone calls to recommend products to customers. They found that happy customers were more likely to make purchases, with 6,400 showing the potential to lead to a new upsell out of 12,000 Live Chat sessions. In total, this led to 320 new deals, representing an increased conversion rate of 5%, which grew to 8% the following month.

Customer service in banking acquisition

Customer service excellence has been proven to maximize conversion rates for current customers looking to take out digital products. However, the same concept can be applied to converting potential customers as part of your digital marketing strategy.

By identifying moments in the customer journey that often cause friction among your target audience, agents can be on hand to resolve the friction and increase current or savings account openings. Once an enhanced digital experience on customer service channels is in place and proving effective, this approach can be used to reinforce your current strategy.

However, the fact is that many banks are still falling behind in their customer experience, making them lose out on customer conversions and harming acquisition potential. This harms current loyalty as much as it does the bank’s marketing efforts.

A strong customer service offering service as a base, allowing banking institutions to leverage support services as marketing channels and better reach their target audience. In this way, banks can expand their customer base, while also meeting customer expectations and driving customer satisfaction.

Invest in current customers. Invest in future customers.

Enhance your banking industry marketing efforts by better serving your current clients with Unblu. This powerful tool plays a crucial role in the success of your bank marketing campaigns. By implementing new digital channels, you can reduce friction throughout the customer lifecycle, offering relevant content where necessary to foster loyalty.