The first week of October was created as a week dedicated to customer service. The aim is to highlight the importance of services, the combination of which, along with state-of-the-art innovative products, makes up the complete customer experience in the financial services industry. At a time when technology is helping to converge the perceptions and demands of customers on service providers, it is very difficult to distinguish between different sectors of the economy. When a client sees in his mobile application the ease and speed of processing other offered services, he also demands to see how the request for a banking product is progressing. Ara compares not banking experience, but her life experience in different companies and for different needs.

1. Mobile phone refreshes the concept of a banking product

Customer self-service is one of the fastest growing trends in the banking experience. Customers now have full access to their bank’s products, turning what was once a distant dream into a self-evident expectation. Already today, in most banks, users of mobile phone applications have surpassed those using Internet banking. And something else important: the mobile phone influences and changes behavior, which leads to an increase in digital transactions, transparency of payments and, as a result, a reduction in the shadow economy. This is the biggest technological revolution in banking since the advent of ATMs in the 1970s.

2. Store of the future

Shoppers may not visit brick-and-mortar stores as often as they used to, but that doesn’t mean banks can do without them. The need for brick-and-mortar banks to compete with online banks and improve the customer experience has led to a rethinking of the physical store and what the “store of the future” should look like. Some banks have experimented with designs similar to those used in digital product sales chains, having a range of digital devices to directly serve their customers. Other banks have capitalized on one-on-one face-to-face communication by turning their brick and mortar stores into customer education spaces. Parallel finds exist in all sectors of the economy, where the role of the store is now decisive on the path of digital-physical combination (figital). The biggest challenge for the banking system is to capitalize on the new role of sales and service channels, which will be merged rather than vertical to each channel.

3. Advisory role of banks

Most bank customers are looking for ways to put their money to good use but don’t know where to start. Many turn to the Internet, but the information they receive either does not meet their needs or is unreliable. This gap can be filled by banks with reliable services and certified financial advisers. Through customer relationship management (CRM) technology and detailed investment suitability questionnaires, data is collected and analyzed to help understand customer profiles and diagnose customer needs. This level of understanding is extremely valuable because it allows consultants to offer personalized advice to clients at every stage of their financial journey.

4. Smooth “landing” of new customers on banking platforms

Customer self-service is one of the fastest growing trends in the banking experience.

The adaptation of each new experience largely determines the client’s perception of what will happen next. The same is true in banking. Simplifying the process by bypassing paperwork and replacing it with a series of simple electronic steps taken by Greek banks makes it easier for their customers to provide relevant key information from the comfort of their homes. Unfortunately, there are still significant regulatory differences between European countries that create the possibility of unequal competition and a distorted image of Greek banks, but they are gradually softening.

5. Customer support during the digital transition

The emergence of the pandemic in 2020 has highlighted the importance of digital channels and remotely offered services. However, the transition to digital has proven difficult for many, mostly older, clients with limited digital experience. Banks cannot afford to ignore customers who are struggling to keep up, so they should step up their efforts to make the transition to online banking smooth. This requires additional support for educational content, such as step-by-step guides, interactive videos, etc. This is also the responsibility of banks and in the context of the policy of equal access of citizens to services using technology.

6. Digitization closer to human interaction

While artificial intelligence and digital channels are major trends in banking customer service, they cannot diminish the value of human interaction. To this end, banks are increasingly offering a combination of artificial intelligence and live customer service support. For example, various methods are being applied to provide live chat using chatbots that mimic natural human interaction in order to serve customers efficiently and quickly at any time (24/7).

7. Hyper-personalization

It’s no secret that personalization is important for creating value for banking customers. Banks can achieve hyper-personalization tailored to the individual customer by using a combination of predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to leverage explicitly validated real-time customer usage data. Such information allows you to make safe predictions focused on the interests and needs of the client. The science of data analysis can go even further and provide a level of forecasting that will even contribute to the day-to-day management of household budgets.

* Mr. Andreas Athanasopoulos is the Deputy Managing Director of Eurobank.