5 revolutionary trends in CX for financial services and insurance

We talked to almost 900 consumers and hundreds of customer experience (CX) professionals to understand the changing landscape of CX in financial services and insurance. We heard the same thing over and over: the expectations for CX have skyrocketed. 

 

We’re calling it the CX revolution in financial services and insurance. 

 

With this revolution comes the opportunity for companies in the industry to transform their contact centers into strategic assets. Here are the major trends that emerged from our global research survey. 

 

1. The CX stakes are rising. 

Increasing customer expectations for seamless, omnichannel experiences, combined with the push towards digital-first accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is putting higher pressure on financial services organizations to prioritize the importance of integrated CX strategies and investments. 71% of financial services customers are more loyal to companies that invest in strengthening their customer experience.

 

2. Driving better CX outcomes is challenging.

Despite heavy investment in digital products and solutions, keeping customers happy is tough, inspiring CX leaders to reevaluate the contact center as the missing connection in the CX journey. 77% of CX professionals cite omnichannel as an organizational priority, yet 51% of institutions still have siloed channels.

 

3. Contact centers are the missing link in transforming CX.

Contact centers are often forgotten as legacy investments, but forward-thinking CX leaders are now recognizing the potential for contact centers to play an important role in transforming CX. Cloud-native contact centers can serve as an engagement layer across all core systems, all while fueling the seamless omnichannel experience desired by customers. 82% of CX professionals consider the contact center as a strategic asset to the business.

 

4. There are new ways to strategize deeper customer intelligence.

Demand for customer insights and intelligence shows no signs of letting up. With AI automation capabilities and integration across all customer touchpoints, contact centers offer a rich repository of customer data, leading to deeper insights to share across the business. 84% of CX professionals are seeing an increase in demand for contact center customer data and analytics.

 

5. Expanding from productivity to production.

The role of the agent is evolving. Extending beyond traditional problem resolution, agents are re-skilling to drive cross-selling and upselling opportunities, driving a new source of active revenue. This hybrid growth – in combination with the explosive amount of data being captured and used in a cloud contact center, is re-shaping the foundation and perceived value of contact centers, shifting from traditional operational productivity to revenue production. 85% of CX professionals cite repositioning contact centers as profit centers – by combining service with sales – as a priority.

 

The financial services and insurance industry is at a pivotal moment with respect to customer experience. To learn more about what we heard and what you can do to apply the lessons learned, download The CX Revolution in Financial Services and Insurance report.