FIS: ‘Show-Tell-Show’ Approach Bolsters FinTech Client Success

Fostering a collaborative environment is key in helping clients meet challenges, FIS Vice President, Customer Success Meghan Oakes writes in a new PYMNTS eBook, “The Listening Economy: How Customer Conversations Are Transforming Financial Services.”

The questions our clients ask the most are “What is the process during the configuration phase of the project?” and “Is it a user-friendly configuration?” It is important for them to understand how the project will progress in all phases, as this will ultimately help them train current and future users. Aside from our clients asking questions, we also ask questions and direct our clients to maximize their knowledge of not only how the system works, but why certain decisions are made during an implementation. The client is changing processes and technology, and it is key to utilize all available internal and external resources to reach their ROI goals in the shortest amount of time possible.

We enable our customers to fully experience our system through a “show, tell, show” approach during the implementation process. This method allows them to learn effectively through demonstration, followed by an explanation of the “why” behind decisions, and finally another demonstration of the outcome. Additionally, we encourage our customers to leverage the expertise of our implementation team, composed of former practitioners, to enhance their own experience.

What gets measured gets improved. That is a statement we live by. We utilize robust KPI reports that provide key data about our clients and their product usage. Implementations, professional service engagements and improvements in customer defined success factors are an indicator of a healthy relationship. We also follow up with clients after implementation to review adoption by their team and if the strategies are effective or determine if they need to be adjusted.

In one example, a large client’s license was set to expire, which would restrict access to the system and impact cash flow. Our CX team quickly reacted and provided an extension to the license while working with the client to update the contract terms to prevent a future recurrence. This swift action avoided an issue that could have had multiple downstream impacts. This client said, “Best support from a vendor” they had ever seen.

Another large client recently called out their enhanced experience with one of our support teams. The areas they noted include:

Ticket handling: The team instituted a more streamlined and effective approach to resolving issues, ensuring that challenges are met with swift and satisfactory solutions.

Problem solving: Fostering a deeper, more agile capability to identify, address and overcome obstacles, empowering the team to tackle problems with confidence and creativity.

Support team engagement: Cultivating a dynamic and enthusiastic atmosphere within the Support Team, encouraging proactive participation in calls and a collaborative spirit in troubleshooting ticket issues.

Product knowledge: Elevating the team’s understanding and expertise of the product, transforming their knowledge into a valuable asset for both them and the clients they serve.

We have seen success with our advisory boards, client summits and user groups, showing that fostering a collaborative environment is key. These environments should provide peer, product and former practitioner experience levels to allow for individuals to learn best practices and how industry peers are handling challenges. We actively encourage our clients to network at these events and continue to stay in touch to more broadly share the experiences, successes and challenges that often arise in an uncertain economy.

As leaders in the industry, it is our obligation to understand that our clients are going through change management during implementation and that there may be unforeseen challenges. We are here to help them overcome those challenges by building and providing techniques that will provide innovative solutions based on our expertise and experience in the industry. By maintaining a regular cadence, we provide our clients with confidence that we are on this journey with them. It creates a level of mutual trust that demonstrates our success only comes from our clients’ success.