As the economic uncertainty deepens in the UK and interest rates continue to soar, our call tracking data over the last few weeks has shown a major spike in call volumes to banks and FSIs. The increase in calls around interest rates, and consequently mortgage payments, skyrocketing emphasises customers’ financial worries.
20% increase in calls to financial services in September
Our latest call data, gathered from financial institutions in-platform, has shown that following Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget on 25th September, FSIs have experienced a 20% increase in calls from anxious customers looking to safeguard their finances.
In response, Bank of England has now raised interest rates to 3% and expects the UK to fall into its longest recession. It’s time for banks to prepare their customer service teams and focus on providing an outstanding customer experience if they want to remain competitive.
This significant rise in consumer calls to FSIs demonstrates consumer anxiety and a need for reassurance. They’re looking to your business – and by association, your contact centre team – to assure them that their hard-earned cash is in safe hands. To provide the best possible service while handling increasing call volume, focus on the following two areas.
Consider investing in tools that can give real-time insights into how your agents are doing. Call intelligence can unlock hidden insights such as tone of voice, that can be incredibly useful in sensitively handling customer concerns, such as worrying about main repayments. With tools such as Conversation Analytics, you’re able to train your agents using real intel to ensure customer queries are met with positive, helpful and reassuring responses.
Calls signify one of the few direct points of contact customers have with their bank. After the mini budget, call minutes went up by 21%, proving that the period ahead is critical for FSIs. By using call intelligence to better train staff and improve communications across other channels, organisations are able to strike the perfect balance between addressing customer queries in the contact centre efficiently and providing outstanding customer service.
The Bank of England has said a recession may last until mid-2024. The coming weeks will be a crucial time for banks to provide exemplary customer call experience. Long-term, it will be an ongoing scramble for businesses to maintain or establish a sterling reputation that consumers can trust.
Now more than ever, banks and FSIs need to make sure they’re handling customer concerns the right way. Ready to invest in technology that can ease consumer anxiety, reduce the pressure on your call centres and improve your reputation? Book a demo with us today to find out more.