An estimate from McKinsey suggests more than 20 percent of the global workforce – mainly from high-skilled roles in verticals like finance, insurance, and IT – could work most of the time away from the office without impacting productivity.
But, transforming this to reality will require organisations to 2x their digital transformation initiatives and bridge the gap between remote and office work. Here, digital initiatives such as automation, mobile apps, data analytics and necessary enablement tools will help make the sales channels/extended enterprises (sales teams, partner networks, distributor networks, agents, branches, franchises) more self-empowered. This will not just impact productivity but also retain the workforce and help deliver a more connected experience.
These trends will make the BFSI sector ready for next-generation advancement
Climbing to the next level with Ecosystem 2.0
This new ecosystem aims to strengthen its participants, i.e. extended enterprises, playing an essential role in improving customer journey across various touch points. The ecosystem not only extends the distribution network; it further creates value for business and generates improved customer experience.
When the workforce shifted to remote work, digitally-enabled interactions became more valuable than traditional methods. Many organisations, including BFSI companies, started considering value-generation innovations to grow business, expand their networks, reach, and generate better revenues.
“Financial institutions need employees who can collaborate, innovate, adapt, and persevere through business disruption” – (Source: Gartner)
Retaining and engaging talent
BFSI companies need talent that can evolve and sustain even during a crisis. Hence, they need skills, learning, and training to enhance productivity that helps achieve desired business goals. Marketing and sales enablement are an integral part of a digital transformation strategy.
It helps to successfully execute the communications required to drive sales and engage customers across different channels. It will also help add value to your workforce while keeping them motivated and more involved with the organisation.
“84 percent of sellers say having relevant marketing content to share with prospects is important.” (Source: https://www.dnb.com)
Omnichannel marketing approach
Amid the expanding digital horizon, customers’ buying decisions are highly influenced online. Hence, the need for a well-integrated platform providing access to multiple channels like website, social media, SMS, email etc., via a single platform has increased.
The omnichannel approach helps create a personalised engagement experience for customers with a higher satisfaction rate. It also motivates sales channels who get the necessary tools and enablement to address their customers’ needs and provide a seamless experience.
Customer experience
With rapid transformation, customers now prefer quick and convenient customer experience. They want information that is available at their fingertips. Hence, both offline and online experience is a priority for BFSI companies.
Many public sector organisations in the BFSI space developed their digital applications and digitised offline processes to create a better customer experience while resolving queries faster and more efficiently.
Opting for digital transformation to generate a valuable customer experience can also help accelerate sales through relevant leads and customer retention.
“By 2030, it is expected that 75 percent of large BFSI firms will use hyper-personalisation at scale.” (Source: Wipro Insights)
Personalisation
Another essential part of the digital transformation trend is the prioritisation of customer engagement in the BFSI industry. Organisations prioritising personalisation as an essential customer engagement strategy recognise it as a critical competitive advantage.
Currently, personalisation is entering a new phase, where targeting and engaging customers are highly driven by their interests and behaviour online. It helps enhance customers lifetime value, improve operational efficiencies, and long-term sustainability.
The future of the BFSI industry is highly focused on innovation and will be highly technology-driven. They are aggressively opting for digitisation with new and emerging technology to achieve operational efficiency, better revenue, and deliver a superior customer experience.
Edited by Teja Lele Desai
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)