By Sandeep Kang, product manager at Aptean,

Looks at the value of good CX in a crisis and the role of automation in first-point-of-contact resolution.

We’re living in the age of sky-high customer expectations. The rise of next- and even same-day delivery, and the ability to contact some businesses 24/7, means that the majority of customers expect almost instantaneous fulfilment in any interactions they have with an organisation and things are no different in the financial services sector. Consumers readily hold brands to account if their expectations aren’t met, with more customers switching providers more hastily than in the past. And, with the number of touchpoints increasing all the time due to the rise in the sheer number of communications channels in use today, the potential for financial services businesses to get things wrong when it comes to providing a good, consistent customer experience (CX) is greater than ever.

With regards to complaints in particular, expectations are even higher, with customers demanding swift, effective resolutions, often unwilling to grant the business in question a fair amount of time to resolve any issues before voting with their feet. In times of crisis, complaints can be exacerbated, with the addition of emotion and uncertainty only serving to fan the flames of discontent. With crises come raised levels of customer interactions, too, putting further pressure on stretched customer care and complaint handling teams, meaning that consistent, effective outcomes are even harder to achieve.

Complaints and CX

One of the cornerstones of providing a good standard of CX is complaint resolution, especially in a crisis. According to research, 76% of customers expect their complaint to be resolved immediately but, in reality, just 1/5 of customers experience this swift service. With 60% of customers asserting that they would change provider as a result of a complaints experience that was found lacking, the need to resolve complaints quickly and effectively, particularly in times of crisis, should not be underestimated.

With this in mind, the need to resolve complaints at first-point-of-contact has never been more pressing. The ultimate aim of complaints management excellence, first-point-of-contact complaint resolution goes hand-in-hand with CX excellence, resulting in more satisfied customers thanks to quicker resolutions. It also mitigates against errors and further customer unrest, rendering it unnecessary to pass the complaint on to a different department or team—a process that can lead to further delays and communication errors, leaving the customer wanting for consistent, informed interactions with the business.

Easier Said than Done

Saying all that, first-point-of-contact resolutions are often tricky to achieve, something that can have a devastating effect on customer satisfaction levels. Frontline staff often lack the skills and experience to effectively manage some of the more complex complaints, particularly those within such a highly regulated industry as the finance sector, and many businesses simply don’t have the joined-up processes needed to furnish their staff with the all-important single-view of the customer, which underpins the most successful of outcomes. Even if they do have the right tools and information at their disposal, staff may lack the confidence to ensure first-point-of-contact resolution. And, what’s to say that first-point-of-contact resolution is the right approach for all complaints? In some cases, being too hasty to resolve a complaint could be seen as being not rigorous or diligent enough, something in itself which can lead to further customer dissatisfaction.

Added Automation

But, for the majority of cases, first-point-of-contact resolutions are the preferred option, with increasing numbers of businesses boosting their use of automation in their quest to achieve this. In particular, machine learning (ML) or intelligent automation (IA) is playing a more significant role in business systems, recommending certain courses of action for specific scenarios, steering frontline staff in the right direction to achieve a swift, effective resolution. Similarly, the addition of AI technologies that learn and improve can minimise errors, reducing the time taken to complete tasks, helping to speed up resolutions and getting ever closer to that first-point-of-contact goal.

Although AI isn’t better than the human brain, it does operate much faster and on a bigger scale, helping businesses to make sense of the huge volumes of data we’re all dealing with on a daily basis. By identifying patterns in behaviour, both in customers and employees, AI has the potential to inform complaint management strategy, facilitating first-point-of-contact resolutions with greater regularity. It also provides the foresight needed to sometimes predict failings and problems before they occur, enabling the business to take the necessary steps before CX is adversely affected.

Potential Pitfalls

That’s not to say automation is a panacea for all complaint management ills. It might be the facilitator of faster, more efficient working, but, at least for the moment, it’s unable to capture the nuances and vagaries of human behaviours, factors that are crucial to consider when it comes to complaint management CX, particularly in a time of crisis. More often than not, customers want a sympathetic ear, something that can be distinctly lacking if automation is valued above all other CX processes and procedures.

What about when automation goes wrong, which it invariably does and will? Already disgruntled customers will either become even more upset, making it harder to reach a resolution, or they might abandon the interaction altogether, both of which are far from ideal outcomes. In a similar vein, the use of AI to filter out simpler, easy-to-answer questions, although great for speedy resolution rates, means that those calls going through to the frontline will be regarding complex issues, putting even more pressure on an already stretched frontline. In this respect, we really do have to ask whether automation could do more harm than good?

The Perfect Combination

Well, if handled correctly, the answer to this is simply, no. To get it right, financial services businesses need to combine traditional, people-led processes with automation where relevant and where it adds value. By amalgamating the two, organisations can bring the human touch required to thaw the perceived cold, distant nature of increased automation, while ensuring optimum outcomes every time, including first-point-of-contact resolutions where appropriate.

As opposed to AI, this is where intelligence amplification comes into play, empowering frontline staff with the right tools and furnishing them with the information and insight needed to expedite a comprehensive understanding of the customer situation, creating that all-important up-to-date single view of the customer. By achieving the optimum combination of knowledge, tools and skills to deliver swift, effective outcomes, this amplifies staffs’ existing skills and experience, with both empathy and efficiency at heart, all underpinned by a consistent approach to not only complaint management, but CX as well, even in the most challenging of times.