ING Groep NV

06/03/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/03/2021 07:54

Boosting the customer experience!

There's a saying: never change a winning formula. Last week, a new edition of global CX (Customer Experience) Day, building on the success of previous editions, saw nearly 3,000 employees from around the world take up the challenge of making as many customer improvements as possible in just one day.

This year's global CX Day was different due to coronavirus restrictions. But thanks to technology, Retail Banking, Business Banking and Wholesale Banking teams from 27 countries came together in one virtual auditorium to think of and implement improvements that will make the customer experience more personal, easy and smart.

CEO Steven van Rijswijk, who opened the day, emphasised how important it is to have days like these.

'However small the change, if it makes the experience a little bit easier, smarter and more personal, it counts,' he said.

This year's theme was to see through the eyes of the customer and find new perspectives to improve the customer experience.

Calling customers

The Netherlands, for instance, managed to get real customer insights by calling customers during the day to ask for feedback.

'We had a very positive experiment, helping several customers with unresolved issues. We took away many interesting insights listening to their feedback,' said Ellen van Acker, client services manager at ING in the Netherlands.

In addition, they developed an extension of their web chatbot so it can be used to ask customers for feedback and give them immediate solutions via search.

The Philippines introduced a virtual assistant in addition to their 24/7 chat-only customer support. The assistant is able to answer 20 percent of all frequently asked questions at first response, which greatly adds to the customer experience and frees up agents to tend to more difficult questions.

In Turkey, customers can now get assistance with investing through video calls. Remote advisers can answer questions and provide information about other banking services and products.

However small the change, if it makes the experience a little bit easier, smarter and more personal, it counts

- Steven van Rijswijk, CEO ING.

Onboarding

Improvements were also made to the customer onboarding process.

In Poland, customers can now open a current account via the ING website and can finish their application later if they are unable to fill out all forms at once.

Germany worked on making the onboarding process for their business customers more personal. Prospects can now indicate when and how they want to be contacted to discuss their loan application.

Also first-time joiner Wholesale Banking improved the customer due diligence process for clients, aiming to make it less time-consuming and frictionless.

Seeing through the eyes of the customer was clearly put into action throughout the day with employees coming up with close to 300 improvements by the end.

CX Day in a nutshell

  • Number of participants: < 3000
  • Number of countries: 27
  • Business lines involved: Retail Banking and first-time joiners Business Banking and Wholesale Banking
  • Number of ideas: < 300

CX improvements in a nutshell

  • Belgium: personalised financial insights via the banking app to help customers better manage their finances.
  • France: improving the customer experience in relation to non-financial risk matters.
  • Germany: improving the accessibility of products and services and providing more insights around sustainability products.
  • Italy: virtual 'orange rooms' where customers can provide feedback or ask questions.
  • The Netherlands: customer 'call-backs' to get insights and a more personal connection.
  • The Philippines: virtual assistant in addition to 24/7 chat-only customer support.
  • Poland: improving the digital customer onboarding process.
  • Romania: simpler operational processes for customers and improving digital customer journeys.
  • Spain: making digital channels (web/app) easier for customers to use, reducing the number of call centre calls.
  • Turkey: remote mobile adviser for investment products.
  • Business Banking: personalise the loan application process for German business customers.
  • Wholesale Banking: customer due diligence improvements.