Customer experience: creating value by transforming customer journeys in 2024

We are in the midst of a customer experience revolution. As customers, we now expect more than just good service; we want to be delighted, and feel like our needs are being met. As consumers on the go, we want instant gratification on demand - but don't always know what that means for us. 

Insurers, banks and financial institutions who understand how important it is to offer seamless digital experiences will find themselves ahead of the game in 2024. Here's some advice from UX experts at EasySend on creating value through transforming customer journeys with multi experience design!

UX challenges in financial services

Paperwork in the form of web forms is a frequent problem in the field of user experience (UX) design in BFSI sector. As an insurer, a bank, or a financial institution how do you encourage customers to share information with you? How can you make it simple for them to complete the form all the way through and not abandon it halfway  (especially when you require a TON of information, including attachments, signatures, and supplemental documentation)?

The answer is: make it as simple and seamless as possible.

UX advice from industry experts/thought leadership in insurance, banking and financial industries offer the following advice:

• Replace a boring form with a digital customer journey that covers end-to-end processes, including eSignatures, attachments, and supplemental documentation - all in one place. Offer multiple digital channels for customer service, including chatbots and self-service options.
• Don't ask for information that isn't required or relevant. If your customer is taking the time out of their day to provide you with their personal information, asking irrelevant questions can frustrate them. Connect your digital journey to your backend systems to ensure that you don’t ask for data you already have. Use data enrichment technology that can fill in the blanks (for example, if you already know the address, you can automatically fill in the postal code instead of asking your customer to do it manually.)
• Give customers guidance on how long each step should take (including any wait times) so they don't feel like they're wasting time 
• Use smart defaults where appropriate. This will cut down on mistakes and simplify the process further. For example: if filling in a date automatically populates with today's date by default unless changed by the user, smart defaults prevent users from having to edit their form entry every time. Instead, the value is populated by default, and in case the user needs to change it to something else, they can simply select an option from the dropdown menu.
• Add smart validation at the point of entry to avoid back-and-forth with customer service and shorten wait times.
• Ask for information in a way that matches customer behavior. Don't just assume people will write out their address or phone number when they've been trained to use autofill—figure out what your customers are already doing, and adapt accordingly
• Offer self-service options whenever possible so users can resolve issues on their own without having to wait around on hold or talk to someone over the phone about everything from passwords resets, account changes/updates/deletions, etc. For example: requesting a password reset via an email link instead of calling the support desk is preferable. This saves time and resources, as you don't have staff taking calls every time a user forgets or loses his /her password which is a common issue in any industry.
• Don't let your customers lose their way—if someone gets stuck somewhere, help them get back on track as quickly as possible. For example: if customer is filling an online form and decides to leave browser window open overnight but then forgets what information he / she entered into the form when they come back next day, this can be frustrating for user so have a feature in place where you allow users to access saved versions of forms/applications or auto save data automatically without asking too many questions
• Think about what you are asking for on your forms - is there a different way to obtain the same results? Can you use technology that's already built into their phone or device (voice recognition software)? 
• Use gamification techniques during your UX process. By making forms "fun" users are more likely to complete them all the way through.
• Make it simple to reach out to a human support agent. Automation and self-serice are great, but sometimes people want to have a conversation with another real person. Make it easy for them by keeping agents easily accessible, and offering multiple contact channels so people don't feel forced into using one medium over others.
• Keep an eye on new technologies as they emerge - if there's something better out there that will enhance the customer experience then use it!
• Don't just talk about being "user-centered" or "designing for your customers", actually design for them. If you're asking users to complete a survey every month, ask yourself: is this really helpful? Or can I get away with asking fewer questions more often? Is what I'm measuring here even relevant anymore? Are my metrics changing from month to month, or do they stay the same?
• Test your ideas. Test them with users, and improve your digital journey on ongoing basis. Constant experimentation and optimization is key in creating better UX.
• Make it personal. Every customer is unique. Understand what motivates them, ask questions to find out their needs, and build a dialogue/relationship with them. Use the information you already have to personalize your offers.
• Make it mobile. Think about how customers want to access your services in 2024 - will they be using voice-activated technology? How can you make this easy for them?
• Connect with your customers on multiple channels - don't make your customers feel alienated or alone by only providing them with one way to access customer service! Allow people to contact you via Facebook Messenger or Twitter directly from the journey, for example. This is a great idea as everyone has these apps already installed on their phone/device so they are easy to access!
• Be creative - don't just think about technology but look at how you can improve customer experience by changing things like your attitude or approach to dealing with customers too. Look at what other companies are doing in this field to find inspiration.

These are just some examples among other things that should be considered while designing digital customer journeys -UX challenges in financial services. Turning boring paperwork into engaging digital journeys built according to best practices in user experience.

The no-code approach offers a unique opportunity to take advantage of UX expert know-how without breaking the bank. EasySend offers best-in-breed UX for your business with zero code.