CX Education 05: Learn how personalized messaging helps expand your customer base with Christopher Young from Adobe

Key insights

• Create an environment where customers feel comfortable communicating their finance-related plans, doubts, and concerns

  The increased use of technology and the internet has influenced customers' preferences and reshaped their needs. Financial institutions that want to stay relevant in the market and continue to grow must stay atop innovations and make the most of the digital channels available. That way, they become part of the entire customer journey: prior to, during, and after a purchase. After all, when clients feel their needs are heard, they are more likely to stay with a particular organization. ''The key thing for financial services is loyalty. And loyalty has been put at risk with a lot of everything — the pandemic, digital entrance, all of these things. So that puts a lot of pressure on our financial services customers. There was a huge change in journeys.'' 

• The quality of customer experience depends on how fast you can adapt to change

  Asked how he would rank financial institutions in terms of their digital experience - Christopher shares results from an Adobe Digital Trends Report. They had around 500 respondents from the financial services industry. One of the questions was, "How would you rate your digital experience in keeping up with customer expectations?" Around 70% of those surveyed claimed they are keeping pace or staying ahead, while 30% are lagging. However, they also got some additional insights. ''The same survey indicated that the marketing executives, 90 plus percent, said that the key to future success is the agility of the marketing department. And to be clear, it's not about applying an agile methodology, but it's for their teams to be able to move fast to rapidly respond to a customer's changing needs. So if there is a situation, consumers are going to react very differently, and it's how quickly you're able to respond to deliver on those experiences.''

• Two-way conversations will remain critical in the finance space

  Again, technology grows, and companies experiment with various tools and methods to streamline procedures. AI is here to stay, and more and more companies use robo-advisors. But, as our guest says, people will still want to talk to a real person on specific occasions. ''At some point, someone thought that this would replace the human advisor altogether or we'll never need a call center again. But the reality is that it's going to be a mix, and it's gonna be a mix based on the preference of the individual and the particular situation they're in. You might need some much higher level of financial advice that a robo-advisor isn't designed to provide. That's where you would want the expertise of a human that could complement your whole range of experiences.''