Next year, according to a recent study by U.K. contact-center firm Aspect, financial-services companies will be increasing their use of Internet-based self-service support software systems in an effort to cut costs.
More than 100 business and IT executives, in the sector, were surveyed, on their customer engagement and technological goals. While 56 percent stated that improving the customer experience was their primary business goal, 68 percent still maintained that cutting costs was also a priority. As a result, one in five organizations, that were surveyed, stated they plan to add instant messaging or online self-service help desk functionalities next year.
“Despite 94 percent of respondents claiming that customer service is the primary objective, [the tools] aren’t just functional customer service outlets but real assets adding real business and strategic value, and not just in terms of sales,” Aspect VP of Northern Europe Peter Nicol said in a statement. “The research reveals some encouraging findings, particularly that only one in five respondents claim that being seen as a cost centre is a barrier to technology adoption.”
Another important part of the study found that organizations are improving their efforts to increase the value of customer interaction in software-support systems including FAQ & Q&A software. For example, although only 17 percent of companies currently use voice analytics in their support centers, the practice is still one of the fastest-growing uses of this web-based technology. According to Aspect, in 2013, 13 percent of the surveyed firms plan on using voice analytics.
As a result of the need to both improve customer services and to cut costs, it is increasingly likely that companies, in financial services and many other sectors, will want to adopt support software such as self-service platforms, instant-messaging tools, and instant-answer software.