Who do you think would be more willing to lend you money: an old friend or a complete stranger? If you’re famous for always paying off your debts, I’m sure it’s the former. So imagine my surprise when, a few months ago, when I applied for my first mortgage in more than ten years, my bank not only rejected my application, but also practically did not explain why. I was a good customer (or so I thought), my savings grew step by step and He had never seen me in red, so what was the reason for his rejection?
Not only did they leave me without a mortgage, but no one from the entity dared to call me to explain what was going on and help me find other options. That’s what I expected from my bank after years of (supposedly good) relations, but What I found was an email that looked like it was written by a chatbot., in which nothing was explained to me and no alternative was offered to me. Carry on dear client.
How is it possible that the same entity that sent me countless messages to pre-approve my loans and credit cards is now giving me this treatment? “It was very poor management, especially from the customer service side,” Hiberus digital transformation consultant Cristina Fernández told me when I told her about my case. Characteristic, what my entity was doing wrong was driving Overall experience (TX), a strategic technology trend introduced by Gartner in 2020 that involves the coordination and homogenization of all business vectors that affect its users and clients.
My bank’s credit and card department may have treated me phenomenally and were willing to provide me with lots of financial products, but when it came time to employ the most important person in my life, their kindness, willingness and help shone through. . If my bank’s Cards area had enough information about me to pre-approve it without me asking, At least the mortgage department should treat me with the same trust, right?
“It usually happens in companies that they work in silos. There is a sales team, another for IT, another for customer service, but I assure you that there is no one who works transversally with everyone and has a global vision.”, details Fernández. And that is the goal Overall experience“Improving the overall experience where all the pieces are intertwined, from technology to employees to customers and users,” says Gartner. Under this paradigm, although each area maintains its work independently, they are all coordinated under the same umbrella of information and strategy, like one circle that controls all the others.
And as it could not be otherwise, this unique ring is in the form of data. Fernández explains: “The goal and challenge of companies is get unique data from each client that will allow to improve each of the processes and actions from all points of view Overall experience: Customer service knows who they are dealing with and can personalize the service and qualify their actions to improve conversion, loyalty and acquisition, which can also be customized for different target groups and get statistics about what your audience is like and what their behaviour. usually has in his customer journey“.
Of course, how new does this total experience represent in the corporate world, where concepts like user and customer experience have been ruling for several years? Fernández replies:The most differentiating factor is that it involves the experience of the worker. It’s about making sure you have all the right tools and resources to do your job well and enjoy doing your best. The great technique They usually do it very well, it’s an internal value proposition, they put a lot of effort into taking care of the staff, so that they are not limited to following their 8 to 5 schedule, but to work better and not to leave the company at the first opportunity.” .
I’m not saying that the mortgage managers at my entity were unhappy or didn’t know how to do their job well, but the person in charge of Hiberus states: “Their ultimate goal should be cross-selling and your satisfaction, so if they couldn’t give you an A or B mortgage , They should have tried to offer you something different and at least made you feel taken care of, and even more so now in the times we find ourselves in, where the level of competition is brutal. If you feel you’re taken care of, you’re more likely to stay.”
UNIQUE DATA COMMUNITY
Is right. Months after my sad mortgage event, not only do I have a loan with another entity that treats me phenomenally, but Disdain for my historic bank made me seriously consider severing all ties with it.. It’s these types of situations that Gartner says will mean that by 2024, organizations that operate within the total experience scheme will have metrics that are 25% higher for both customers and employees compared to their competitors.
Of course, it is worth asking whether in this hyper-globalized world in which some services, such as customer service, are mostly outsourced call centers, Workers on the other side of the planet can feel 100% connected to the company and be truly prepared to be the shoulder on which clients sometimes cry and arm themselves with the patience and information they need to serve us.
“Customer service teams are a fundamental part of business. If they are outsourced, nothing happens, the important thing is that they feel part of the project and they have all the tools to do their job well, and that’s where sins are often committed, and you can tell, because they are the ones who have the most information about the clients’ problems and doubts,” laments Fernández.
He says that when he works with different companies to implement strategies Overall experiencethe first thing you do is ask for a partner from each department, Unfortunately, “Customer service sometimes doesn’t show up, and when it does, it’s surprising.by all know-how that they have from their clients and prospects.” But they are not the only ones. “Staff who manage logistics internally also process a lot of strategic data, and departments like marketing, sales and IT usually don’t account for it,” he adds.
And speaking of IT, what about the technologies, tools and platforms that employees use in their daily lives? Fernández answers: “On a technological level, each department can work in an environment because it is very difficult for manufacturers to cover 100% of the company’s needs. It is normal that there are different teams with different technologies. The best platform is sought for each area, but all need to be understood and communicated. In the end, it’s all about getting better. Actually, the technology behind it is often not as important as the strategy you define. It all adds up.”
And the best thing about this journey to internal and external organizational excellence is that companies and their employees and customers are not the only ones benefiting from the advent of technology. Overall experience. As citizens used to fighting both public digital platforms and some officials, the total experience is already starting to seep into the Administration. “Public entities are significantly improving their digitizationbut there are many procedures that need to be done in person, which is why they are a perfect example of TX,” says Fernández.
Hiberus already cooperates with the regional government. The person in charge describes it as “an ideal project because it involved the citizen but also all areas of governance, from innovation to hunting and fishing”. The strategy of relying on a regional company in the process allowed them to discover that one of their biggest problems in terms of procedures occurs when they have children. Fernández explains: “We found that people don’t know all the help, what paperwork they have to do, where they have to go… so we put togetherall this information on the user portal and can even arrange online“.
But the social contribution of culture total experiences It doesn’t end here. The person in charge envisions the future of total experience applied to the most important area of every human being: health. And he describes: “In the face of illness, The diagnosis phase can take you from doctor to doctor and from test to test. Every change forces you to go somewhere and repeat the same thing and again. “It would be ideal for all healthcare professionals in the process to have a complete overview of your history and to be able to manage all appointments and analyzes in one place.”
Of course, in healthcare as in any other field, the privacy of user information will continue to be paramount, so it will need to be guaranteed before any exchange between departments is considered. “Data is important, but so is how to capture, manage and use it,” concludes Fernandez. In any case, wouldn’t it be great to always know where to go or who to talk to in order to do something, and that the platform or the person answering not only does it in a personalized way, but also know everything you need to streamline your administration and help you in the best possible way? That’s the future Overall experiencei hope my bank will find out if i need to apply for a second mortgage one day.