CASE STUDY: FINANCIAL SERVICES

Sustainable growth

A financial services technology provider wants to expand into new markets, but first, the company needs to break down its internal barriers. By transforming at an organizational level, the company can position itself as an innovative industry leader to retain and attract critical talent for growth. 

Senior stakeholders have diverse perspectives that must be aligned across the business.

The focus is continuously shipping new features and technical capabilities to enhance service offerings. Interested in how to deliver innovative capabilities to customers, an external partner was hired to provide recommendations for product strategy and future state roadmap.

The senior vice president of product wanted to identify future state digital features for the company to deliver to its clients, using a mix of research methods. Future predictions were generated using analysis from market research firms, financial news and information services, industry associations and organizations, academic and research institutions, financial services companies, investment banks, government and regulatory bodies, independent analysts, and think tanks.

An organizational assessment uncovered that the barriers to expanding into new markets are primarily internal issues on a managerial level. To transform, many things need to happen, and they don’t always seem connected. But without integration, the company can’t build the connective tissue for sustainable growth. If too much work occurs in silos, with one part of the organization not engaging with another or with the business to understand the downstream impacts of decisions. 

One of the most compelling unique selling proposal (USP) is their exceptional customer service. By prioritizing excellent customer service, the company has maintained positive customer relationships, enhanced its reputation, and secured long-term success. However, the new digital features are being released at a speed that their customers are struggling to keep up with, and the result has been increased pressure on the customer service team. An inability to meet customer service needs can have far-reaching and damaging effects on a company. The impact can be profound, from decreased customer satisfaction and loyalty to financial losses and strategic disadvantages. It underscores the importance of investing in robust customer service systems, continuous training for staff, and proactive measures to address and anticipate customer needs effectively.

“We try to be as communicative as we can with the customer, …. technical support can’t always be provided in real-time, which put us in a tough position that's not ideal.”

— Employee, Customer Support

Customer Expectations:

Small local banks prefer US-based support, which sets us apart. We’re not outsourcing this. It is in the US 24/7, every day of the year. They get a customer success manager who knows their name.

- Employee, Head of Innovation

Organizational Assessment

  • Stakeholder Interviews

    Stakeholders within the company were selected based on their level of influence to direct product strategy, directly interacting with financial services customers and anyone who is impacted by product strategy.

  • Design Science Methods

    Design science methods persistently pursue answers to questions, even when difficult or time-consuming, and differ from other disciplines because the emphasis is creating tangible solutions rather than collecting discoveries. It involves iterative ideation, validation, and refinement to improve the effectiveness of the developed strategies.

  • Systems Mapping

    A structured approach to visualize and analyze the complexities within an organization. This holistic perspective is essential for navigating the intricacies of organizational dynamics and achieving sustainable success. Systems mapping is a powerful tool used in organizational assessment to visually represent and analyze an organization's complex relationships, processes, and dynamics.

Jess Lowry, Mindful Studio

“A human-centered organizational assessment focuses on evaluating an organization from the perspective of its most critical asset: people.”

Understanding future shock.

What is the impact of accelerated technological advancement? 

  1. Workplace Changes: Technological advancements can lead to significant changes in the workplace, including the automation of jobs, the need for new skills, and new ways of working.

  2. Increased Complexity: Modern technologies are often highly complex, requiring specialized knowledge and skills to understand and use effectively. This complexity can be intimidating and confusing for many people.

  3. Accelerated Development: The rapid pace at which new technologies are developed and adopted can be overwhelming. Unlike gradual changes, technological advancements today occur at a breakneck speed, leaving little time for individuals to adapt.

"Future shock" is a term coined by the futurist Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book. It describes the disorienting and stressful effects of rapid technological and societal change on individuals and communities. 

There is a misconception that execution is the most critical element to speed. In fact, without well-defined strategic planning, the operating model can’t be set up to enable efficient execution. Operations become a bottleneck, slowing things down and racking up costs. 

Evidence demonstrating this can be observed by the length of time required to train users of the platform, lack of user engagement, support tickets without a cost associated with the time and effort put into closing it, customer disinterest in paying for business banking services, low NPS scores, missed RFPs due to functionality assessment, customer churn, and so on. 

The other source of evidence is observed in team members when making decisions. Employees aren’t able to work with autonomy because decisions often change, and knowledge exists in silos. 

Data-driven insights.

The company can leverage real-time customer support requirements to enhance the user experience and address the impact of future shock. Integrating all support channels into a unified system allows for seamless tracking and resolution of customer issues. By continuously monitoring, analyzing, and responding to customer needs, the company can make informed decisions that lead to more intuitive, efficient, and satisfying products and services. This begins with proactive measures to monitor how customers use the product in real-time and help identify pain points and areas for improvement. Using predictive analytics to anticipate common issues based on real-time data allows companies to address problems before they affect more users. AI and machine learning can analyze the sentiment of customer feedback and provide insights into user satisfaction and areas of frustration. Identifying frequently reported issues helps prioritize areas that need immediate attention and improvement.

To expand its market share, providing a dedicated person to help customers adopt new technology is not sustainable.

The best approach for customer service combines AI and human agents, leveraging the strengths to provide the highest level of customer care. Generative AI can enhance customer support through its availability, scalability, consistency, and ability to handle vast data. By integrating GenAI into customer service operations, businesses can provide quicker, more accurate, and personalized support while reducing costs and improving overall efficiency.

GenAI can handle unlimited customer queries simultaneously, which is something human agents cannot do. This ensures that during peak times, customers are not left waiting. It allows businesses to scale their customer support without proportional increases in staffing and associated costs. GenAI can operate around the clock without breaks, ensuring customers can get support anytime, regardless of time zones or holidays. GenAI provides consistent responses to queries, ensuring that all customers receive the same level of service and information. It can analyze customer data to tailor responses and recommendations based on individual customer profiles, preferences, and past interactions.

Ideally, customers do not need to call for support because the interface is intuitive, and support feels effortless. 

“To achieve sustainable growth, it’s essential to break down silos by introducing cross-functional collaboration to ensure customer service is not compromised.”

— Jess Lowry, Mindful Studio

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