Integrated Digital First CX Model:  What do Customers Want from Digital Channels?

In previous posts to this five-part series on building an integrated digital-first service model we discussed matching different waypoints of the customer journey to the channels best suited for the specific waypoint.

Beyond the overall CX at the institution level, we also researched CX attributes specific to the digital channel.  In an effort to identify digital features to prioritize in digital channel design, Kinēsis investigated both the appeal and trust of various digital banking attributes.

Timely information, cyber security, and financial value are the most appealing digital banking features.

Digital Attribute Appeal

The following chart displayed the relative appeal of digital service attributes on a 5-point scale:

Timely information about overdraft and upcoming direct debits alerts received two of the top three appeal rankings (4.2 and 4.0, respectively).  Assistance with cyber security threats, and offers and perks from places shopped often round out the top four. 

The next tier of five attributes, with average appeal ratings of 3.3 to 3.0, contain themes of information and personalized advice:

•     Personal financial reports and analytics/ Dashboards

•     Savings tips based on my spending patterns

•     Balance updates until my next payday

•     Tips to act more sustainably based on my behavior

•     Budget information based on spending

Chatbots and gamification (making the app more fun with elements of game playing, such as badges, points, etc), round out the bottom two attributes.

Digital Attributes & Trust

To add context to the digital attribute appeal ranking, we asked consumers if each of the attributes would increase their trust in the financial service provider.

Mirroring the appeal rankings, cyber security and timely information have the highest likelihood of increasing trust in the financial institution.

Cyber security assistance and alerts about overdrafts and upcoming direct debits increased trust for just about 19 out of 20 customers. 

Only about 4 in 10 customers felt chatbots or gamification would increase their trust in the financial institution.

In order to provide CX managers context to make informed decisions about which digital attributes to prioritize, the trust and appeal rankings of each attribute are plotted on the quadrant chart below.  Each of the quadrants below labeled (Q1 – Q4) are defined by the average appeal and trust rankings. Those in quadrant 1 (Q1) have higher than average appeal and trust, while those in Q4 have lower than average appeal and trust.

Investments in timely information, financial value and cyber security assistance have the most potential for return on investment.

With higher than average trust and appeal ratings, alerts about upcoming direct debits and overdrafts, offers and perks from places shopped often and cyber security assistance are the four digital attributes positioned to yield the highest return on investment in terms of appeal and trust.

Personal financial information such as analytics/dashboards, budget information, savings tips, and balance updates have below average appeal, however higher than average trust implications, and therefore should be prioritized next.

Tips to act sustainably, chatbots and making the app more fun with gamification have both below average appeal and they do not appear to have strong associations with trust of the institution, and therefore should be prioritized last.

Next, we will consider the implications of this research for CX managers.