*By Eduardo Albano
The migration of companies to the online environment had been discussed for at least 10 years, but this process was done organically. However, the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic changed the scenario and boosted this movement. The period of social isolation and, consequently, the restrictions on the functioning of commercial establishments, meant that companies that had not yet matured their methods of digital interactions were forced to act quickly to minimize losses.
The public that still did not interact with brands in apps and online platforms needed to change the way they consume to be able to buy products, hire services and carry out financial transactions. There was a time when there was no other option. With that, people started to adapt with these experiences and now they are used to using digital services, which should not go back to working exclusively in person. For once this universe expands, the way interactions were done in the past will not be reflected in the post-pandemic.
For companies, the customer experience, regardless of whether it is physical or on the digital channel, has always been important. But now, with advances in online environments, the topic has gained relevance and is now widely discussed, as it is a fundamental factor for business success.
A recent study by Experian shows that 47% of companies that have adapted to meet the needs of the digital environment are doing much better. In addition, 9 out of 10 companies commented that they had a strategy related to the digital customer journey, with nearly half of them saying this was after the start of the pandemic. When asked about the customer's digital experience, 55% of consumers have higher expectations for the onset of the pandemic, and 1 in 4 people started shopping elsewhere because a company they were a customer didn't adapt to their digital needs.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the consumer was more flexible and tolerated the possible errors of digital environments better. After all this adaptation period, customers are less patient with the waiting time to analyze a record, the amount of information requested or the unavailability of a service, for example. In other words, there can be no break in the experience, otherwise the consumer will look for another company that better meets their expectations.
This anxiety is not restricted to a younger audience, already immersed in digital culture. In the midst of the pandemic, I had to open an account in a digital bank and I ended up giving up, as they asked to send data more than once and, besides, I didn't have a good experience via chat. If during the first contact with the company I was already asked for a lot of information and caused me stress, I decided that the best thing would be to go to another financial institution.
We are not restricting the discussion to the onboarding process, but as most companies are looking for a new customer, the complications placed at the beginning of the relationship directly impact consumer expectations. Until the beginning of the pandemic, there was really no financial investment or focus of many companies to turn the key and bring the improvement discourse into practice. Today, a good customer experience has gone from a desirable item to something vital, which when not prioritized can take the company out of the game. In this way, it is known that the world has changed and that we need to make decisions faster, with as little friction as possible for the customer, with automated processes and in compliance with legislation.
In Brazil, there was a change in the rules of the game due to a combination of factors: new audiences that started to use digital services more; economic crisis and financial aid; new input channels (via partner companies, apps and the web); the LGPD (General Law for the Protection of Personal Data) which came into force.
The new scenario for granting credit brought more uncertainties to the market. Global companies are also losing confidence in their analytical models for credit management. So, institutions will need to rethink these models for the entry of new clients or for managing their portfolios.
Data, analytics and automation are the three main factors for making an assertive credit decision in the current scenario. This triad supports a process with less friction for the consumer, balanced with a lower risk to the company in this decision. Therefore, minimal information and verifications are requested from the client and the decision is provided in less time with less risk. Combined information from a bureau, such as registration, credit scores, fraud alerts and propensity models, are examples of how this combination can bring more confidence to the company, streamlining the onboarding process.
Automation also allows the company to have control and governance of the decision process, something not only essential for flexibility in company strategies, but also required by some regulations such as the LGPD.
Internalizing credit decision-making automation, however, can be difficult because it is not the core of most companies. Therefore, it ends up spending a lot on IT infrastructure, teams and especially time, when it would be more efficient to have solutions already consolidated and take advantage of continuous improvements in different markets and situations.
What I see as one of the best practices in the market and I point out is that companies hire decision software in the cloud, which allows scalability to high volumes without the need for a large initial investment in technology, keeping its core and its policy strategy under its custody. As this is a strategic decision for companies, solutions that have high maturity in the market in dealing with data, analytics, credit and fraud are recommended. The best options are those that run machine learning, have very high availability and that work with low-code solutions so that there is less effort and dependence on IT teams.
* Eduardo Albano is Executive Manager of Decision Analytics Solutions at Serasa Experian
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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