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What Customers Expect in the Financial Services Industry

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What do consumers think about the financial service experience? Top-level financial services executives are focusing on the customer experience to compete in today’s hypercompetitive market. But, before they begin, they need to understand how customers perceive financial services companies and how the customer experience impacts their buying decisions. TTEC performed an in-depth study of financial customers and examined their sentiments about the financial services experience. This infographic tells it all. what customers expect in the financial services industry  

Social Media Expectations

What do customers expect after expressing feedback to financial providers via social media channels? Most (62 percent) expect nothing at all, but 28 percent of financial customers expect an immediate response from the company.

What Affects Buying Behavior?

Most people would agree that the customer experience is critical, but just how important is it for the financial services industry?
 
  • 49 percent of customers said quality customer experiences influence their decision to do business with a brand

Roughly half of financial customers say quality customer experiences are important influencers of their financial partnership decisions, but in today’s digitally and socially connected world, it’s not the most powerful influencer. Word-of-mouth also has a persuasive power that financial companies shouldn’t ignore.
 
  • 70 percent of financial services customers will consider a company based on a positive referral

Customer Experience Excellence is More about Emotions

When it comes down to actually serving customers over the phone, financial services companies have work to do, and the areas of improvement have more to do with emotion than one might expect. Customers overwhelmingly (70 percent) still prefer to speak with a live person for help, but those experiences often cause negative feelings and reactions.
 
  • 54 percent of financial services customers feel lost in a corn maze when they encounter automated service systems
  • 36 percent of customers in the financial services space want to speak to a friendly, em pathetic associate, yet don’t mind if they’re inept
  • Customers experience feelings of hate when they hear phrases like “your call is important to us” and “that’s our policy”

So knowing all of this, what should financial services executives remember as they journey down the path to customer centricity?
 
  • Most customers (62 percent) expect nothing from financial services companies after expressing social media feedback. While this means business leaders may have some time before they are under pressure to implement social customer care, this area is ripe for exceeding expectations and wowing customers
  • Nearly 50 percent of customers let the customer experience play an important role in decision making, so make customer experience improvements a high priority—after all it could greatly increase sales
  • Most customers (70 percent) are influenced by their social networks, so make it easy for customers to share their excitement and positive financial services experiences with their friends and family
  • As many as 36 percent of customers want to speak with a friendly, empathic service associate, so the emotional experience is a valuable part of the service financial companies provide. Remember to evaluate your customer experience with your emotional diary close at hand.