The Financial Brand article “Online Appointment Setting Will Become the ‘New Normal’ in Banking” confirms what many of us already know: the pandemic has accelerated the use of online appointment scheduling at financial institutions.
Not only do appointments generate account growth and revenue, but they have a positive impact on customer experience, which is reflected in higher net promoter score (NPS).
Like other industries, financial services has seen appointment scheduling become a “Must Have” offering during the last 6 months. This is already the case for larger banks, and is now becoming true as well for regional banks and credit unions of all sizes.
Key findings from the research showed that:
- Appointment scheduling produces new account growth. Over 90% of their appointments resulted in new balances gained, and new accounts being opened within a standard response window. The takeaway is that the appointments function provides strong engagement.
- Appointment scheduling improves access. More than 35% of customer appointments are being booked during non-business hours. Customers know what they want to do and don’t want to waste their valuable time waiting in a line at their bank or credit union. By being able to pre-book an appointment, customers can better plan their day — and the branch staff can more carefully meter the flow of traffic in their location.
- Appointment scheduling improves Net Promoter Scores (NPS). One bank saw an 18% increase in NPS after implementing their solution.
- In-House versus Vendor solutions are viewed the same by end user customers. The source of the code is not relevant, rather, customers simply crave access.
The TASBIA™ Bottom Line
Acceptance of virtual meetings has been key with the “Zoomification” of many activities. For example, services that historically had to be “in person” have moved online, such as Remote Notarization, with many states taking emergency action to allow video conferencing.
Banking has typically been a laggard in adoption of technology for customer convenience, but the pandemic is pushing it forward. Bankers talk about returning to “Business as Usual” (BAU), but now realize that appointment scheduling will become a core requirement for BAU going forward.
Read the full The Financial Brand article here
See Vendors offering Financial Services appointment scheduling.
