Enhancing Customer Experience in Banking and Financial Services Industry – The James Bond Way!

A Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred, was the classic of bond movies, one of the lines fans had come to expect in every outing for the super spy. Every James Bond – Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan used this line till Daniel Craig came along.

When Daniel Craig acted in Casino Royale, this is how the line goes, “A vodka martini, please?”

“Shaken or Stirred?”

Danile Craig’s reply was, “Do I look like I give a damn?”

The James Bond franchise was a very old one. But, they still stay relevant by reinventing themselves.

James Bond usually goes on a wild, twisting chase to uncover some seriously bad guys in bond movies. Likewise, the BFSI segment sends its customers on a wild goose chase to find what they need.

What Is the Learning That BFSI Can Take From the Bond Movies?

Reinvent Yourself

The James Bond franchise is old, and it should have become passe by now. But, that hasn’t happened yet.

Why?

Its screenwriters, producers, and directors know how to constantly reinvent his character, modernizing him and adding an exciting twist that keeps the audience engaged.

Likewise, as a customer experience function mainly in the BFSI environment, you should keep adding more and more channels that your customers expect of you. Initially, most banks and financial service institutions started with voice, but they have extended it to their apps, chat, text, and social – all integrated, offering the best possible customer experience.  

Thorough Product Knowledge

Bond understands his mission to the ‘T,’ and he knows every detail he has to know before embarking on his mission.

Likewise, as a customer experience professional, you must have extensive knowledge about your product and every benefit it can provide your customers. Knowing your product well and helping your customers should be your mission.

I Don’t Stop When I Am Tired. I Stop When I’m Done – James Bond

This is one of the dialogues that Bond speaks about taking responsibility and ownership of the mission.

Likewise, customer experience professionals in BFSI should take responsibility for customer problems. 70% of BFSI customers indicated that they would stay loyal to an organization if their problems were resolved in one interaction. The burden of seeing through this lies with the customer experience professionals across channels.

Listening is the Key

James Bond, across his adventures, is one of the most incredible listeners that you can ever find. Bond understands the problems, spot lies, and makes correct judgments through effective listening and observation.

Customer service professionals in the banking and financial services industry needs to listen closely to the customers. This would help them identify the problem, deliver the right solutions and understand the approach to be taken to reassure the customer and address their needs.

Never Panic

Have you seen a Bond panic in any of his missions? He stays calm irrespective of the situation.

Likewise, as customer experience professionals, you would be thrown several googlies and interrogated every day of your profession. The most important thing you need to do as an agent is to express self-control and stay calm. This itself would reassure the customers, and during the interaction, they would gain confidence that their problems would be addressed.

Always, try to err in favor of your customers.

To be relevant in today’s context, you should constantly keep reinventing yourself as a Banking customer experience function.

For instance, when Amazon bought over MGM studios, people wondered what the future would hold for the super-spy James Bond?

The short answer from Barbara Broccoli was, “We make the Bond films for the audiences. Our fans are the ones who dictate how they want to consume their entertainment. I don’t think we can rule anything out, because it’s the audience that will make those decisions. Not us.”

If viewers want to see James Bond in 45 minutes episodes, the franchise will provide it.

Likewise, as a BFSI customer experience function, you should listen to your customers closely and provide most of what they expect.

Isn’t that a sure-shot way to retain your customers and grow your revenues?