We’ve all heard the age-old saying, ‘it’s cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire a new one.’
This has never been truer than today where it’s easier than ever for customers to switch KiwiSaver providers. With so many providers available - once a customer is gone, they’re almost impossible to claw back.
AI and chatbots are instrumental in creating exceptional customer service experiences that enable KiwiSaver providers to acquire and retain more customers. Combining intelligent automation and engaging conversational messaging is a key driver to streamline customer service processes at scale and deliver richer, more meaningful experiences for customers.
Below are three key ways KiwiSaver providers can utilise AI chatbots to retain more customers.
Contents
1. Deliver Accurate Information and Advice at Scale
2. Engage Customers with Next Level Digital Experience
3. Be Available For Customers When They Need You
1. Deliver Accurate Information and Advice at Scale
Customers feel confident in a business when they have easy access to accurate and trustworthy information. This is heightened when that need relates to money and key financial investments, such as KiwiSaver.
KiwiSaver providers have a duty to supply customers, both new and existing, with detailed, up-to-date, and accurate information that is easy to understand. This gives customers confidence that they will receive the best advice possible as it relates to their investment decisions.
Yet with thousands of customer conversations taking place at any point in time, how do KiwiSaver providers offer accurate and detailed information that is easy to understand at scale?
Enter chatbots.
Chatbots can hold an unlimited number of customer conversations at any time. They are also incredibly consistent with the information they communicate to customers. This ensures detailed and accurate information is provided every time to build trust and loyalty.
Ambit chatbots are also easily configurable. This gives KiwiSaver providers complete control over the way information is communicated to customers, ensuring it is received and understood as intended.
Through sophisticated natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, the chatbot will never go off this intended script, and only communicate the information that has been programmed into it. Data masking and advanced security features ensure that any personal information a customer exchanges with a chatbot is kept private and secure.
When updating chatbot conversations to reflect changes in policies, regulations, and other general information, much of this content must be carefully reviewed by legal departments before it is published.
Ambit chatbots make it easy for legal and marketing teams to update, edit and approve conversational content without even signing into the platform. How’s that for ease of use?
2. Engage Customers with Next Level Digital Experiences
The KiwiSaver market is highly competitive. With numerous schemes to choose from and switch between at the drop of a hat, KiwiSaver providers must deliver simple and engaging experiences to build customer loyalty and maximise retention.
Educate customers across the lifetime of their investment
Consumers seeking financial information and advice as it relates to KiwiSaver have plenty of questions along the way, yet many might not have the confidence or knowledge to communicate these with a professional advisor.
Chatbots educate customers from common to complex enquiries throughout the lifetime of their investment journey. E.g. How does KiwiSaver work? What are your fees? What fund should I be in? How do I change my investment rate? What is a contribution holiday? How can I access my funds? Etc., These can all be answered in a simple and private one-to-one conversation using natural language.
A chatbot that educates customers in an informal and engaging way makes it easier for them to understand what they need to do to get set up and how to approach their investments. Easy access to educational content in an interactive manner keeps customers informed, fuels brand confidence and strengthens their loyalty to you.
Build positive brand experiences
Consistency is key across any brand. A clunky and inconsistent experience isn’t enjoyable for anyone and will most likely frustrate your customers.
Digital channels are now the most common ways for customers to interact with businesses. Think websites, social media, and apps. Consistent experiences across these digital channels are crucial to maintain brand integrity.
Building and updating chatbot conversations with a low-code, no-code platform are simple, fast, and completely customisable. This allows KiwiSaver providers to stay on-brand with their content and communications in their own unique way. Whether that’s through tone of voice, messaging and positioning, personality, or look and feel, the chatbot experience remains consistent with your brand as it evolves.
It also ensures consistency across other channels your customers interact with to build a positive brand perception.
Empower customers to self-serve
The ways customers interact with businesses have evolved. Customers expect engaging experiences that are instantaneous and interactive.
KiwiSaver providers are turning to digital self-service options to accommodate this change in consumer behaviour.
For example, KiwiSaver applications are typically a dull and laborious process for customers. If this process is too slow or difficult to complete, providers risk potential customers abandoning them before they’ve barely started. Pair this process with a chatbot and customers benefit from a more interactive and engaging experience that allows them to complete their end of the process easier.
Streamlining applications, and other multi-step interactions with automated conversations speeds up time-consuming processes and allows customers to serve themselves with no wait times.
Automated KiwiSaver conversations also reduce the workload on internal customer service teams. These teams typically spend a large chunk of time assessing, administering, and responding to customer applications and enquiries. The overload and subsequent backlog on this means that customers end up waiting for long periods of time before they receive a response.
Chatbots automate these processes and allow KiwiSaver providers to acquire new customers faster, and retain existing customers easier - a win-win situation.
3. Be available for customers when they need you
Today’s consumers crave instant gratification. The demand for immediate and accurate responses, at any time of day, is growing exponentially. Consumers' patience with contact centres and lengthy wait times, no matter the industry, is wearing thin. Who can blame them?
Providing the answers your customers need, when and where they need them is the lifeblood of your business. Without that knowledge, information, or advice at the right time, there are very few barriers holding customers back from jumping to another provider. Instant responses to customer queries no matter the time of day will go a long way to keeping them in your hands and out of a competitors.
Customers expect to engage with businesses at the times that suit them - not the other way around.
They work during the day, they have family commitments and lives of their own. Often their only time for personal research and decision making is after work hours or on the weekend. Their time is precious and they’d prefer to spend it doing something they enjoy, rather than waiting for someone to pick up the phone or email them back.
KiwiSaver providers have turned to AI chatbots to double down on reducing wait and resolution times and provide 24/7 customer service availability. Automating a wide variety of customer requests - whether that’s how to join KiwiSaver, understanding investment options and fund performance, accessing funds, understanding benefits, or updating account information - Ambit chatbots give customers the freedom to connect with a business on their terms and get instant responses.
Not only do customers get what they need, KiwiSaver providers also benefit. By reducing the number of repetitive queries that flood the contact centre, chatbots empower reps to focus on providing customers with a better experience to deeper and more pressing issues. Did someone say customer satisfaction?!
Utilising chatbots for KiwiSaver customer service expresses an empathy to your customers that shows you respect their time and understand their wants and needs. That respect doesn’t go unnoticed and distills a brand loyalty within them that’s tough for competitors to break.
