The Executive Summary for the FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH 2022

What is clear from this research study is that customer experience appears to be at the forefront of business in this sector. However, (and we find this across most of our industry
research), CX is still considered to be in its infancy, and as such is not prioritised across all departments or driven from the top-down. The conflict here results in a delay or complete
dismissal of CX re-design, which was a huge concern for the majority of respondents, who cited the necessity for redesigning business processes to suit digital interactions.

One of the key findings in the survey was the scores connected to COVID-19, price hikes, and inflation. According to respondents, the financial sector is feeling the pressure to
continuously reassure customers at this time and offer extensive support. And to achieve this, they are needing to accelerate digital strategies.

It’s no surprise then that 50% of respondents noticed a sizable change in their customers’ expectations, saying that they felt they needed to gain a more thorough understanding
of the customer’s end-to-end goals. More personable service is expected, while digital ease and functionality were listed as the most significant change in customers’ demands. All
this is underpinned by the need to keep customers informed and engaged.

What was interesting to find was that over and above the concern around faster digitisation, remote management was highlighted as a resounding obstacle for our respondents. It
was found to be the biggest COVID-19-related challenge with the most direct impact on CX strategy and company growth.

When asked about current CX interventions and strategies, the majority of our respondents (81%) reported using Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) to review their CX and said
they have seen the value and benefit this process has added to their business. However, the challenge they face is in getting company-wide and leadership buy-in to maintain
consistent CJM and implementation of CX changes.

Another concern from this sector is the ability to access real-time data. This anxiety stems from what executives reported as a key trend shaping their industry; digitisation and
integration of channels (omnichannel).

And finally, often considered the bugbear of CX by professionals, but arguably the most important is measurement. 88% of survey respondents said they have some form of CX
measurement metric in place to understand client/customer satisfaction. But only 50% said that it’s helping them to make CX improvements, i.e., they can get a basic
understanding of customers’ needs but getting beyond this point to implement changes is proving to be a challenge.

In conclusion, it’s clear that the financial services sector is ‘awake’ to CX, however, more work needs to be done in making it a top priority. We are seeing too many departmental
factors across organisations holding back a company’s CX success. CX is now the number one differentiator over price and product and is a crucial component for the competitive
environment that is finserv. To address this setback, finserv companies should consider company-wide CX training to embed a deep CX culture across all departments. Only once
EVERYONE is on the same page, and when CX is driven from the top, can things like intelligent and effective CX re-design fall into place.