Tag Archives: banking

How to Prepare Your Call Center For Spikes in Call Volume: The Financial Industry

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How to Prepare Your Call Center for Seasonal Spikes: UtilitiesLike most companies competing in the modern marketplace, the financial industry is subject to spikes in call volume due to seasonality. Despite the increased offering of digital channels for handling customer service requests, surges in call center activity for financial institutions are a regular occurrence. The reason for these surges varies: They may be the result of unexpected crises (such as a data breach) or more predictable events like annual mortgage renewals or tax season. Added to this are the challenges brought forth by the digital era, which have the financial sector rushing to adapt to meet the increased demands of contemporary customers.

As banks close their physical branches, with more services being offered through their digital channels, customers take to the phones to have their questions answered. 30% of customers calling in are doing so with “moment of truth encounters” that “have higher emotional stakes for the customers.” These become key interactions in maintaining – or losing – customer loyalty. When call volumes spike, the stakes are even higher as customers deal with frustratingly long hold times.

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Survey shows banks are not very responsive to social media

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A recent survey shows that banks are lagging behind other industries when it comes to responding to social media complaints. (Hat tip to Business Insider.)

The public relations firm MHP Communications asked representatives at 35 global banks about their use of social media for customer service. Although about a third used social media in their personal life, fewer than 3% used it on the job. Of banks that are using social media, customer service is the least likely way in which they use it (25%).

This is surprising because in many other areas of technology, the banks are often ahead of the curve. One topic I’ve discussed on this blog on several occasions is their rapid embrace of smartphones as a new interface for customer service. See In Canada, Mobile Banking is Used by Over 12% of Mobile Subscribers  and RBC releases mobile app. Now all the banks are in.

This is a odd disparity. I think it is safe to say that smartphone users are more likely to be users of social media. After all, 40% of tweets come from mobile devices, according to Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo. (As that was 10 months ago, it’s probably higher now.)

I think banks will soon realize that it doesn’t make sense to make a big bet on mobile without embracing social media at the same time.

In Canada, Mobile Banking is Used by Over 12% of Mobile Subscribers

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A new report is out highlighting the popularity of mobile banking in Canada. The “Canadian Online Banking Insights” report was published at the end of July by comScore. (Hat tip to MobileSyrup.)

Putting 12% in context

Quite a few good data points in there, but the one that caught my eye is that 12.3% of all mobile subscribers are using mobile banking. On one hand, this seems low, given that mobile banking has existed, in one form or another for almost 10 years. On the other hand, if you tried some of those early attempts at mobile banking, you’ll recall how unpleasant they were to use. The game didn’t really start until smartphones became prevalent (specifically the iPhone) about 4 years ago. And it took few more years after that to reach another important milestone that we hit only at the end of last year: Availability of iPhone apps from all the major banks in Canada. (See my post from December: RBC releases mobile app. Now all the banks are in.) With that in mind, the 12% number is actually quite impressive. (I haven’t seen any data, but I would guess that prior to 2010, that number was probably 1-2%.)

What’s behind the growth?

The forces propelling this growth are

  1. Dramatic improvement of usability brought by the smartphone.
  2. The growing penetration of smartphones.  (Read this: By 2015, smartphones will rule the mobile planet.)
  3. Mobile banking apps are adding more functionality. One much anticipated improvement is the “eWallet” where small payments can be made directly from the phone.

But where is the call center?

However, one area where the apps have lagged is integration with the call center. Today, if you tap the “contact us” link, it simply triggers a regular phone call. No context from your on-device interactions is preserved (i.e. you are starting a new interaction “cold”). Furthermore, none of the amazing functionality of the smartphone is put to use. This is a very large wasted opportunity. It’s an opportunity to improve customer experience and to improve call center efficiency.

It’s just around the corner, actually

Luckily we’re working with a number of banks to change this situation. If you want a peak into the near future, download our whitepaper “Fonolo for the Financial Industry” or tune in tomorrow at 2pm ET for a webinar focused on the financial industry. (If you miss it, come back and watch the archive when you get a chance.)