Salesforce
Data and CRM, human experience and automation: the perfect recipe to have success in the financial services world
Salesforce is the leading global company in CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Since 1999, it allows companies to leverage powerful technological solutions - cloud, mobile, social, artificial intelligence, analytics, chatbot - to connect with their clients in a completely new way.
Salesforce is present in Italy since September 2003 and boasts clients of any field and size, from small companies and startups to typical Made in Italy realities with a focus on the fields of Financial Services; Telecommunication, Media and Utilities; Manufacturing; Retail and Fashion.
The tool that offers to ensure everyone makes the most of the best technology solutions is Salesforce Customer 360, a platform that helps corporate customers in their digital transformation process, also equipped with Generative Artificial Intelligence that offers solutions for marketing, sales, e-commerce, and after-sales support to offer companies a single source of truth about their customers. With Customer 360, the companies are able to draw intelligent and customizable purchase paths and experiences that an increasingly digital consumer expects from any brand.
Innovative technological tools to always put the client at the center
Salesforce Financial Services Cloud is a management system specifically designed by Salesforce for financial services companies. It more specifically extends to banking, mortgage, wealth management, and insurance, and provides in-depth knowledge of customers by offering valuable information at every stage of their life cycle. It also transforms with its ecosystem of partners and a rich API layer large amounts of data from disparate sources into a single 360-degree view of the customer.
Also, with the recent launch of Personalized Financial Engagement, Salesforce helps financial institutions use artificial intelligence, real-time data and CRM to manage customers' financial plans and provide intelligent information and automated, personalized customer experiences based on generative AI and trusted data.
Delivering personalized insights with AI, data and CRM through Salesforce
In an age of high expectations and the need for convenience, customers demand services that are increasingly personalized and tailored to them, and they do not want companies to see them as mere buyers of products or services, but as unique entities with specific needs and in constant evolution.
However, many companies in the financial services field are struggling to keep up with these requirements. In an environment with unpredictable regulations and uncertain economic conditions, it is challenging for them to be able to earn and maintain the trust of customers and to offer them full transparency and reliable and secure services.
How then can traditional companies keep up with the times and take full advantage of their range of service offerings so as to satisfy as many customers as possible?
1. Through collaboration with third-party companies specializing in AI
The financial services market is becoming increasingly more competitive. A research by McKinsey indicates that 10-40% of traditional banks' revenues will be at risk by 2025.
Today's bank customers, mostly millennials, are more loyal to the experiences rather than to the brand itself, and they use fintech services because they expect well-rounded engagement from the banking services they use. It is then up to them to offer a full range of services that can best satisfy them. And although traditional banks possess data, they often lack the technology or infrastructure to analyze it properly.
Collaboration with specific companies that have developed AI systems to analyze data through information sharing via API (Application Programming Interface) then comes into play. Through such partnerships and the use of the cloud, banks can thus connect all data around a single entity, the customer.
2. Focusing on experience rather than products
Today's consumer is looking for a one-time ("one-bank") experience. Financial institutions therefore can no longer afford to offer consumers a set of services designed to meet the needs of many rather than each individual. At the same time, they must begin to think in terms of the customer journey and experience rather than through the mere sale of the product or service in question. This will involve a balance between automation and human experience.
Connecting these digital and physical touchpoints is critical to a seamless experience, and employees must have the right skills and tools to help customers move forward on their financial life journey regardless of the channel, building an overall customer-centric experience.
Through predictive intelligence, banks will have ways to increase sales and customer loyalty by anticipating customer needs and creating a separate "engagement layer" that provides a single, unified view of the customer to the bank's systems and employees.
3. Adapting to the digital-first customer
With a whole new generation of technology experts now ready to invest, how can traditional financial institutions be ready to meet their needs?
Financial services are fueled by relationships, and success is determined by the strength of those relationships. Technology is fueling more and more those relationships. According to Salesforce Research, 52 percent of customers are likely to switch brands if companies do not personalize messages for them; 64 percent expect real-time responses from brands; and 66 percent say they are most likely to switch brands if they feel they are treated as a number, not as an individual.
There is a new generation of banking customers that is beginning to emerge, the millennials, who are connecting more online and on mobile devices, and expect to be able to interact with banks and advisors more frequently across a wide range of channels.
Teams need new technologies that enable them to connect with this new generation of investors and collaborate with them to create financial plans based on their individual needs and goals.
Technologies such as chatbots can support routine inquiries, while consultants within the company can spend time on more complex inquiries to provide a clear and complete understanding to the customer by satisfying them.
Artificial intelligence is now a priority for everyone
The constant evolution of the market and technology necessarily implies that CRM must transform, and it must do so rapidly, shaping itself to the different needs of all types of companies-not just in the Financial Services arena. In this respect, developments in generative AI are making a difference. This year, in fact, the main theme is AI. Salesforce has always been a forerunner in this, with a desire to always offer the best to customers. It all started with the development of Salesforce Einstein, the world's first generative artificial intelligence CRM technology that delivers AI-created content to support sales, customer service, marketing, e-commerce and IT.
In June 2023, Salesforce unveiled AI Cloud, the Generative Artificial Intelligence solution designed for CRM to enhance customer experience and business productivity. In fact, the solution provides content to support sales, customer service, marketing, e-commerce and IT. AI Cloud includes the all-new Salesforce Einstein Trust Layer, which sets a new industry standard for business-facing AI, offering the benefits of generative AI while ensuring data privacy and security.