Live chats as preparation for a chatbot? In today’s episode, Massimo Catrambone from Hypothekarbank Lenzburg talks about the development of traditional banking advice towards customer contact via digital channels.
About Massimo Catrambone
Massimo Catrambone is responsible for the development of e-channel products at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. He deals with the topic of messengers and bots.
From traditional customer contact to digital channels
The idea behind the e-channels strategy is to give customers the opportunity to stay in contact with the bank via digital channels. Not so long ago, the majority of contact was via traditional channels. However, the bank would like to offer more digital services.
The Hypothekarbank Lenzburg live chat
Hypothekarbank Lenzburg’s live chat is integrated into the e-banking website. This means that only customers of the bank can use it for communication. They chat live with employees. They have deliberately introduced this channel for existing customers, as they see great potential in it to provide comprehensive support for existing customers.
Results achieved with the live chat
We currently receive around ten chat requests per day. This is easy to manage and shows that there is potential for more. The most frequent questions concern changes of address, opening an account or matters relating to debit cards.
Feedback can also be obtained from customers in the chats. Most of them were pleased about the new possibilities of digital contact. The live chat is currently only available during normal opening hours. A chatbot would be well suited to efficiently increasing availability in this area.
Procedure for the digital transition
The Finstar platform is a community of different banks that want to move towards digital channels.
Hypothekarbank Lenzburg is currently gaining experience with Messenger. In the first step, they opted for a live chat, as the solution was already available. In addition, they first wanted to observe what is communicated via such channels and identify where customers’ needs lie. In the future, they intend to implement a chatbot that will be able to handle certain services that are currently provided via live chat.
From live chat to chatbot
It would be important for the bank to be able to process a mortgage extension via a chatbot. Their strategy is for the chatbot to guide customers through the entire process. They are already in discussions with ubitec to see how this plan can be implemented. Based on the current experience with the messenger, it can then be assessed for which processes it is worth handling via the chatbot. This means that simple transactions are processed automatically and the bank saves a lot of time in advising customers. However, this remains possible if the customer needs it.
Learnings
1. live chats are well suited as preparation for a chatbot. They help to identify where customers’ needs lie and where it is worth automating a process.
2. it is important in a digital transition to have the courage to take a step and not be afraid that something might not work out. You can learn all the more from mistakes and continuously improve the process.
3. more availability in customer advice has a positive effect on trust, as the feeling is conveyed that customers’ individual needs are being addressed. Automated processes such as chatbots are more efficient than live chats.
4 On the one hand, digital channels create flexible, fast and always available contact options for customers. On the other hand, there is also added value for companies in that a lot of time is saved in customer service by automating simple processes.
It’s best to listen to the podcast episode with Sophie Hundertmark and Massimo Catrambone for yourself. Have fun!
And if you don’t want to miss any more podcast episodes, then sign up for the mailing list at the bottom of this page.
