Customer Service Week (CS Week) is an international event celebrated annually during the first full week in October. During this period customer-oriented organizations and institutions around the world recognize the importance of customer service excellence to their organizations.
This year, Customer Service Week will run from the 7-11th of October.
Even as the world celebrates it this week, organisations still face a lot of challenges in delivering effective customer service.
For financial institutions in Africa, customer service plays a very important role in giving them a competitive advantage.
These financial institutions, from banks to fintech, should not just look at customer service as solving customer problems, it should be about establishing customer loyalty, and confidence to retain customers.
In Kenya for example, NCBA Bank last year unveiled a new updated Service Charter. Anchored on the Kenya Banking Sector Charter and the Banking Industry Customer Service Standards, the bank said the charter is a testament to our commitment to protecting its customer’s rights and promoting fair treatment.
‘’The relationship we build with our customers is determined by the service they receive. This is why we’ve set our key principles to raise customer service to greater heights, inspiring our customers to Go for it.’’ the bank said.
As one of the premier financial institutions in Kenya, NCBA Bank says it is committed to ensuring that all its interactions with clients are seamless, promoting customer satisfaction.
Financial institutions manage very sensitive information regarding the financial welfare of their customers. Having good customer service is the only way to create a very good bond with these customers and in the end, it creates trust between the customer and the financial institution.
Positive customer experiences have also been known to drive customer retention in a market where the customer has lots of options. This is important considering these days, the cost of signing up new customers is significantly higher than retaining an existing one.
Customer experience is also a very critical element of the reputation of any financial institution. In this digital era, poor customer service can escalate into negative reviews on the internet and subsequently spread on social media; this can surely cause major harm to a brand. Similarly, good customer service always results in positive reviews. Strong positive reviews can position financial institutions well, making them stand out while attracting more customers and referrals.
Being heavily regulated, financial institutions have to also keep straight customer care policies. Many customer complaints are a result of misunderstandings or dissatisfaction with some processes, products, or fees offered by financial institutions. However, with a very efficient customer service team, these cases can be mitigated by clear communication and education that would bring complaints and legal disputes to the barest minimum.
Also, good customer care would make weaknesses visible early enough to reduce risks of penalties from regulators and ensure everything moves along more smoothly.
Customer service investments often involve implementing new technologies that can drive a better customer experience. Most financial institutions for example are adopting AI-based chatbots, mobile applications, and automated systems to provide quick and efficient services. Eventually, this reduces operational costs and ushers more return on investment as this lifts up customer satisfaction.
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