Earlier this month, ieDigital had the pleasure of attending the Building Societies Annual Conference in Liverpool.
Over 700 attendees, 50 exhibitors and 70 speakers participated in this fantastic two-day event.
Presentation: A human-centric approach to support digital member experience
Customers often choose building societies because of the personal, human service they receive. But as more customers interact through digital channels, how can building societies provide that human touch to differentiate themselves from PLC competitors?
Some of the key takeaways from our presentation (which you can download below) included:
- When creating a digital platform for your building society, focus on the needs and wants of your customers, as well as what service you want to provide
- Customers place a lot of value on personal connections with your team, so focus on how two-way communication can be achieved in a frictionless way, for example:
- Screen sharing
- Book an advisor chat
- Access to screens in branch
- Options to interact through a different channel mid-transaction
- Investing in digital allows customers to be more in control and manage their finances more effectively
- It is possible to invest in digital while retaining a member-centric approach
Downloads
- Presentation: A human-centric approach to support digital member experience
- Info pack: Create engaging digital services for your members
Interactive workshop
The second half of our presentation included an interactive workshop which prompted the audience to consider how societies could engage with members more effectively by building a two-way dialogue around these themes:
- How can firms improve members online journeys for personal finance management whilst only being a few clicks away from human interaction?
- How can firms support customers better in these challenging economic times to ensure customers get better outcomes when using digital channels?
- How can firms leverage their unique position to engage with the charitable sector more effectively?
Some of the key feedback highlighted the importance of the following:
- Simplifying online procedures
- Fulfilling customer expectations through individualised contact
- Creating end-to-end digital routes with human aid at hand for those who want it
- Introducing straightforward guidance for digital applications
- Assuring customers that digital processes are not frightening
- Allowing channel selections in order to engage customers according to their preferred manner and timeframe
- Above all, providing a personal touch
Overall, the audience felt that members selected building societies for their strong personal connections.
In terms of replicating this connection online, it was acknowledged that keeping channels of communication active and using data to its fullest potential would help deliver this.
We hope to see everyone again next year!