Three customer experience trends that will shape financial services in 2023 and beyond

By Lisa Nicholson, Senior Go To Market Manager, Microsoft

January 30, 2023

Financial services firms have weathered a series of disruptions over the past few years. COVID-19 accelerated the transition to digital transactions and engagements for customers of banking, insurance, and capital markets firms. According to the industry executives who recently shared their insights with us, financial services organizations will be unifying in-person and digital services in 2023. They want to provide their customers with a seamless and consistent experience, no matter the channel.

In late 2022, we surveyed 100 leaders in banking, insurance, and capital markets to get a sense of where financial services organizations will focus their energies in 2023. This is our third annual survey, and the responses signal a shift from the last two years: 2023 Customer Experience Trends in Financial Services.

AI Supported Customer Engagement

Digitalization was a major theme throughout COVID-19. Several years in, the rush has slowed. In our 2022 report, 62 percent of respondents said they dedicated at least a quarter of their budgets to customer experience (CX). That number has fallen as the urgency of change fades. Now that services have been moved online, the emphasis has shifted to optimizing them.

Businesses are turning toward new technologies to automate processes and enhance the value of the digital customer experience. This year, the goal for many businesses is to unlock customer self-service, and some 50 percent of respondents said they want to use customer data for real-time personalization. According to a director of a capital markets firm with annual revenue of over $10 billion, “AI-supported customer engagement is the most competitive innovation in the industry.” As a result, more than 50 percent of our survey respondents believe their customers will embrace digital financial tools over physical branch services in the next 12 months.

Omnichannel CX

Most companies strive to provide the same level of service and personalization in digital and in-person settings. However, financial services organizations must comply with regulations that can make this goal challenging.

In the 2023 report, fewer respondents said that their organizations’ CX was consistent across channels than the previous year. This could reflect the difficulties inherent in digitalization within the industry. As a result, CX leaders are investing in solutions to become more efficient, better serve customers, and reduce expenses. As one C-suite executive put it, “The personalization of virtual interactions with customers will drive value across the industry.” As a result, 46 percent of respondents in our 2023 report say their organizations’ CX budgets will increase in the next 12 months.

Consistent CX across all touchpoints with personalization

Year over year, financial services organizations have made progress on making their CX more consistent. In 2022, 33 percent of respondents said their CX was somewhat consistent across channels. That number has jumped to 49 percent in the 2023 report.

Respondents said that tracking customer cases across channels is their biggest issue in this area. Many also noted that it can be difficult to build meaningful customer relationships. This challenge was also mentioned in the 2022 report. In both years, respondents emphasized that personalization is the key to cultivating relationships with customers. As a result, more than 90 percent are integrating a customer relationship management solution into the call center and adding additional training that will help agents build strong customer relationships.