Throughout history, humanity has overcome many historical, life changing events and technological breakthroughs that have altered social norms on a global scale.
For example, September 11th forever changed the way we travel. The invention of the Internet revolutionized the way we get information, buy products, and interact virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic will go down in history as the life changing event which transformed the way we work, socialize, and conduct business. The pandemic has greatly accelerated the implementation of business transformation technologies in the workplace and the acceptance of virtual technologies at home. According to the Gartner Board of Directors Survey conducted in June 2020, 69% of directors accelerated their digital business initiatives in the wake of COVID-19 disruption, and half anticipate changing their organizations’ business model as a result of the pandemic.
The pandemic caught the business community by surprise and shed light on many legacy and outdated systems and operations. This realization served as a catalyst for digital transformation at many banks and credit unions. That said, for businesses in the financial services sector, the pandemic served as a wake-up call mostly because many realized they can no longer solely depend on the old way of doing business. To remain competitive, maintain profitability at the retail branch level, and keep customers loyal and happy, a digital transformation strategy is required.
Digital Transformation
In response to the acceleration of digital solutions, banks and credit unions have turned to products such as appointment setting and lobby tracking software to increase profitability and customer satisfaction through an omni-channel experience.
- Appointment setting software gives customers control of setting their own appointment around their schedule via the platform of their choosing; virtual, phone, or in-person.
- Online appointments help train customers to go to your bank’s online solution and provides a seamless path to use that solution again in the future.
- Lobby tracking technology lets customers know how long the wait is so they can determine if they want to wait or not.
- Lobby management technology seamlessly measures customer interactions and manages customer engagement.
- Digital solutions also increase productivity. For example, setting appointments digitally in advance gives employees more time to research and understand the customer—this equals better service and profitability.
- Equally important is the data collected and provided by lobby tracking and appointment setting software. This data can assist in forecasting demand, scheduling appropriate resources, structuring products and services to specific customers, and identifying opportunities to increase revenue.
Digital banking solutions that were once a commodity, are now a necessity. If you cannot create the digital experience that account holders expect or want, such as meeting virtually on a Zoom call, they will move to another bank with a more enriched digital experience.
Choosing the right partner
As a decision-maker for a financial institution, how do you know which solution you should implement and how do you go about selecting the right partner? While deploying appointment and lobby scheduling software may seem like a straightforward implementation, the fact of the matter is that any haphazard implementation can be more of a headache than a solution. Not just any low cost or homegrown solution delivers the needs and results of a product specifically designed to meet the needs of financial services providers.
When selecting an appointment scheduling and lobby tracking solution bank branches and credit unions should consider a reliable and trusted partner who is experienced in delivering products that put customers and people first. A solution that is designed to boost workforce productivity, match employee skill sets to each customer, and drive operational efficiencies through customer-centric business intelligence.
Additionally, financial service providers should work with a partner that will address the current challenges and provide ongoing product improvements for their retail bank branches and credit unions. A vendor must anticipate the future customer journey and deliver product updates to meet changing customer behaviors, in return allowing banks to design unique services to guide and meet customer expectations while providing an intelligent customer experience.
What COVID-19 has taught us is that for businesses to survive global life changing events, they need to have a digital business continuity plan which minimizes disruption. Adopting digital technologies that limit risks and improve the employee and customer experience are a must have. Financial service providers should select a product that matures to meet the constantly changing market and is properly implemented with your workforce and customers in mind.
To learn more about appointment setting and lobby tracking solutions check out this Bankadelic podcast where UKG financial industry leaders discuss digital transformation.
