Can Personetics Help Banks Balance Convenience And Customer Service?

When it comes to building a better customer experience, banks have heard one answer loud and clear: convenience is king.

This mantra has been supported by recent studies, all of which have seen consumers name convenience as their top reason for choosing or staying with a banking provider.

For example, a May report by Harris Interactive for Yodlee Interactive found that 63 percent of bank customers said they would not change their bank because of the convenience it provides. Similarly, a 2012 study conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion for TD Bank stated that the most valuable service banks could provide with a checking account was “easy online banking,” with 62 percent of survey respondents echoing this concern.

By taking a deeper look at the studies, however, another trend emerges: a continued emphasis from consumers on customer service. Personetics is one company that is looking to help banks adapt to the changing needs of their customer base. By harnessing data to predict what customers need and presenting solutions, the company says its virtual assistant solution can deliver a more personal, omnichannel banking experience that finally marries digital convenience with reliable support.

And reports suggest a solution like Personetics’ predictive data services could become the preferred solution. In the Yodlee study, 48 percent of survey takers said great customer service was integral to a satisfactory banking experience. Likewise, the TD Bank report revealed that helpful and personal customer service was one of the top two most appreciated aspects of a bank’s service.

For more information on Personetics and its unique solution for banks, PYMNTS spoke to Ido Ophir, head of products at the New York-based company.

PYMNTS.com: We recently became aware of Personetics after it released the results of its latest funding round. Since this this your first time being profiled on PYMNTS.com, can you introduce Personetics to our readers?

Ido Ophir: Personetics is the leading provider of predictive customer engagement solutions for the financial services industry. Our predictive banking solutions are transforming the way digital channels are being used – delivering highly personalized, timely and relevant experiences to the consumer. Our technology leverages customer data and crowdsourcing analytics to create a real-time, robust customer view that can accurately predict customer intent and offer personalized services and recommendations. Clients have seen an overall improvement in customer experience, increased utilization of the digital channels and reductions in operational costs.

Personetics promises to intelligently and accurately predict what bank callers are going to ask 90 percent of the time. How does your solution accomplish this? How are you planning to improve on this figure?

Our unique, patent-pending technology utilizes a single user-based knowledge model that can answer thousands of questions without the need for custom scripts or channel-specific libraries. The solution uses predictive analytics leveraging readily available banking data, the context of the specific customer interaction, individual customer activity and crowd behavior to anticipate customer needs and resolve the customer request.

We leverage what the financial institution knows about its customers – what types of accounts they have, historical behavior, expected activities and more, then combine that with external data sources. We then compare this to similar types of accounts – or peers to see if there are deviations. The system is self-learning, so the more it is used, the more accurate it predicts what that individual needs to know and act on. So yes, while 90 percent accuracy is an impressive statistic, we expect to become even better at predicting bank customer needs and providing the solutions for them to resolve issues themselves and answer their own questions within the digital channel.

A recent study from Mercator Advisory Group found that 68 percent of consumers still prefer depositing a large check with bank tellers, as opposed to ATMs and smartphones. This seems to indicate that many consumers currently trust people to handle questions more than machines. What do you think Personetics has to do to overcome this sentiment?

That is not a surprising statistic. What we find is that banks have done a good job getting people to sign up for the digital channels, but full utilization is low. To realize the full benefit of the digital channels, FIs also need to personalize the digital experience by engaging customers with relevant insights, issues and services they need to know at that moment in time and offer the right tools and information to assist the customer. The customer has to be given the ability to take action.

This is where Personetics can help. Personetics helps FIs drive utilization of the digital channels by bringing relevant solutions, features and services to the forefront, delivering recommendations and solutions that are relevant, personalized and contextual, reducing the need for customers to search for answers or information.

The Personetics’ experience is simple and guides the user by highlighting potential problem areas before they become issues (i.e., a charge that needs closer attention or a balance trending lower than usual, etc.) and providing a seamless experience across all channels.

What effect does the shift away from physical and toward digital banking have on your platform, if any? Do you think reputation and trust are becoming more or less important with this shift?

There is no question banks are still under a lot of financial pressure to improve margins, while still improving the customer experience in a very competitive market. Not only are other banks vying for their customers, so are non-traditional start-ups like Simple, GoBank and Moven. Banks have a lot to gain by moving to digital channels over physical certainly, but it’s also simply about providing the most convenient services to your customers. People have been conditioned by great online experiences from companies like Amazon, Apple and Google. Now they expect the same level, or better, experience from their financial institutions.

People still trust their banks more than ever. When the level of service on the digital channel is personalized to match what they expect when accessing other digital leaders.

Are major banks successfully responding to the challenges of Customer Service 3.0? Do you feel like adoption is still lagging behind demand? Are there companies that are bucking this trend?

Banks are recognizing the unique challenges they face in the digital channels. Customer Service 3.0 is about anticipating your customers’ needs before they know they have a need and offering a quick and easy way to resolve it themselves within the digital channel. We have banking customers that have reduced inbound calls to their call center by 85 percent. That’s a huge cost reduction, but they also found that their customers were extremely satisfied with the new level of digital services. We offer answers and solutions to their issues before they become problematic. The customer doesn’t have a chance to get angry, or wait on the phone fuming. This proactive, predictive approach simply saves the banks money and makes their customers happier.

We have successfully deployed at a major international card issuer, and are in various stages of deployment at nearly a dozen financial institutions across the United States. So, we think we’re making major headway.

You’ve stated that the $11.5 million in new fundraising you raised is slated to go toward satisfying product demand. How is your company looking to build on this success in the coming months?

We’re engaged with some of the largest banks, card issuers and payment processors. We are using this money to expand our back office to support these and new deployments and to expand our development team in Israel. So, we need to grow in all areas to continue down this path and to be able to deliver our solution to the broader market.