March 18, 2019

How financial institutions can reduce customer service costs using chatbots

Table of content

Financial institutions invest huge amounts of money in customer service, whether banks, insurance companies, fund managers, financial advisors, or any other business in the sector.

Have you thought about the investment needed to maintain an efficient customer service? Logically, this value varies depending on the size of the company. But rest assured that any traditional customer service sector spends large amounts of money.

However, this value can be significantly reduced by making some adjustments with the help of artificial intelligence.

Chatbots benefits for clients

A chatbot is usually defined as a virtual assistant that uses artificial intelligence to communicate with consumers and answer their queries in real time.

A chatbot can be of great help in any financial institution’s customer service. Apart from improving the service flow, it contributes to the significant reduction of expenses.

Trust

One of the biggest challenges for companies in the financial services sector is the high degree of trust they must evoke. Customers’ expectations in these cases are very high, since they need to discuss something of great value: finance.

It is through customer service that consumers will acquire the trust they need. Only then will you be able to continue doing business with this institution.

One of the advantages of the use of artificial intelligence in customer service is the trust generated. With a chatbot, the error rate is much lower.

Related article: Advantages of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Service

Privacy and security

Other advantages that need highlight are the privacy and security it offers. This is so because the personal data it transmits are confidential.

The great concern of consumers who establish a relationship with financial services, such as banks or credit card administrators, is the misuse of their information. With a chatbot, this concern vanishes.

After learning these benefits for consumers, let's see how, in addition, you can reduce costs in the institution.

Costs reduction

Customer service is a very important area in the banking industry and it is in great demand. Therefore, reducing expenses while maintaining quality is definitely a complex mission in this department.

Chatbots can answer most of users doubts without the help of a human agent. With this, human agents only need to address cases that need special service. This, apart from speeding up service, reduces costs significantly.

Chatbots do not need breaks or lunch time. They work 24/7 without charging overtime. They don’t need good offices to boost their performance, or bonuses at the end of the year.

If you wanted traditional 24/7 customer service, the cost would be very high. Also, you would not know if the demand would be worth the investment. However, artificial intelligence gives way to customer service on demand, available when users need it.

Related article: Easynvest provides 24/7 service to its investors thanks to AgentBot

Increase in customer retention and other benefits

According to a report from Gartnert, "64% of consumers believe experience is more important than price.

"Efficient customer service is key to the success of any financial institution. Most of the complaints filed by users are due to institutions’ poor customer service.

According to a study carried out by Condusef (National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services in Mexico), it can be noted that the claims with banks have been significantly increasing. Unfortunately, this is not a reality only for Mexico, but it’s present worldwide.

In Brazil, for example, user dissatisfaction is also notorious. We can even see the same problem in countries with a stronger economy such as the United States.

Analyzing another study carried out by Delos Advisors, we can verify that 35% of those who had positive experiences purchased some additional products and 44% recommended the bank.

Thus, it’s clear that, in any region, good customer service is essential to increase a bank’s yields.

While a chatbot is never going to replace a human agent, customer service that has virtual assistants for basic interactions and agents for cases that require other type of service is really effective. By combining the skills of both, a unique customer experience is created.

Customer service that gets help from artificial intelligence transmits trust, innovation, modernity, positive experiences and can create greater engagement. All this means an increase in benefits.

Conclusion

Paying bills online, checking the balance in the application or receiving a notice from the credit card on the mobile phone are circumstances that are part of most people’s lives, thanks to the ease and security they offer.

In an age where consumers are increasingly used to online banking, artificial intelligence takes on great relevance. It can also reduce costs and in the long term increase institutions’ returns.

Your customers are ready to interact with a chatbot when they contact your financial institution. Are you ready to offer this to your clients?

Are you looking for new ways to improve your CX?

Our customer service solutions powered by conversational AI can help you deliver an efficient, 24/7 experience  to your customers. Get in touch with one of our specialists to further discuss how they can help your business.