How Financial Services can pandemic-proof their search experiences

By Jon Buss, Managing Director of EMEA at Yext

The outbreak of Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the economy, and with the UK only just exiting a second lockdown and returning to a tiered system,  there are renewed fears that this will result in a double-dip recession. With so much doubt circulating around job security, it’s no surprise that people are concerned about their personal finances and have a lot of questions that desperately need an answer.

Individuals are turning to their banks and insurance providers online with their financial concerns, hoping that the websites of the financial institutions they trust will hold the answers they need. But when doing so, many are being served outdated or even wrong answers to their questions.

This is largely due to the challenge of having to keep information updated in real-time, particularly when new information, measures and changes to restrictions are being frequently introduced. This is made worse with many consumers avoiding travelling and visiting bank branches in person, forcing customers to turn to call centres for assistance, and encountering long wait times before they can get responses. It is now crucial that consumers can find answers online.

The cost of inaccurate information

Our recent research found that online searches for financial services information has grown since the beginning of the first national lockdown in spring, with customers now searching online eight times a month on average.

What’s clear however is that customers are no longer willing to be served out of date or inaccurate information online, with 69% of people saying they were willing to change their bank or insurance company over incorrect information online.

Financial firms need to be aware of how damaging a poor customer experience like this can be and ensure they gain an understanding of what is harmful to their brand. Trust is a scarce currency in a time of uncertainty and brands need to earn consumer confidence and combat the deluge of misinformation online.

Ensuring reputation isn’t on the line

Only 63% of customers are satisfied with the accuracy of information received by their bank or insurance company – and 93% of them believe services could be improved with live chat or an alternative way to get answers to their questions.

In fact, since the initial lockdown began, people have been turning to search for more specific answers. Our report revealed that half of consumers have been looking for more in-depth information, like services such as credit, investment and accident insurance (27%) and opening hours and the specific names of banks or insurance companies (24%).

This makes it clear that not only the quality of information that financial service brands provide but also the types of information available need to be improved. Giving out wrong, outdated or unclear information can be devastating to, at the very least, the reputation of a business. Now more than ever, that reputation is tied to the quality of information brands put out into the world.

Although the foreseeable future will be trying for many financial sector businesses as the UK navigates the repercussions of both lockdowns, and the tiered system, one way to put customer concerns at ease is to ensure their online customer journey is seamless. Providing answers to customers’ questions  at this time is critical and businesses need to ensure they have the tools in place to deliver the right information at the right time.