How digital transformation continues to transform the BFSI sector

Over the last couple of years, digital technologies have been transmuting the BFSI industry globally. Virtual platforms have permitted the banking, finance and insurance sectors to reach and engross a wider set of customers on a comprehensive aspect. The sector is presently in the midst of a profound transformation with the industry preparing to embrace the next major phase of digital transformation. The challenge that BFSI companies have been facing is substantial. Functioning in a competitive environment of increasing cost pressures, quick action and response has become the need-of-the-hour. This has compelled organizations to modernize their technology function to brace digitization of their businesses front and back ends. Additionally, the pandemic has been putting an enormous pressure on technology capabilities which necessitates the companies to foresee and arm themselves for the next normal through an augmented shift to virtual channels.

Below mentioned are key strategies that BFSI companies are implementing to prepare themselves for a world where-in customers and employees seek competitive digital solutions:

The rise of ecosystems & platforms shifting industry boundaries: Digitalization is a futuristic buzz that has been transmuting and positively impacting almost all the sectors and the BFSI domain is no exception. Embracing virtualization refers to the usage of digital technologies to amend a business model and further offer new opportunities for revenue and value-producing. Digitalizing the conventional methods of banking is a very crucial aspect enabling the sector to cope up with the competition and offer their clients with supreme services. By altering manual processes, transactions and activities into digital services has provided suitability to customers alongside saving time. By meeting consumer requisites in innovative ways across all BFSI verticals, digital innovation has helped build customer loyalty and expedite convenience.

Change of end-customer preferences – Omni-channel journeys and customer experiences: Digital transformation has been compelling BFSI companies to alter their business models and acclimatize to the new market reality. Apart from companies driving the change, even the modern-day digitally-savvy consumers can be credited to bring about innovation in the sectors functioning. Today, customers anticipate a seamless experience through relevant content available online and offline that will influence their buying decisions. In order to upkeep with this new kind of always-connected customer, it is important for business to embrace technology to deliver a first-rate customer experience. While customer-first strategy has been at the core of most organizational strategies, getting on board an Omni-channel transformation as part of a unified customer journey will enable a company to address the mounting intricacy, offer a supreme customer experience, and uphold operations outlays.

The rise of digitally-enabled insurance agents and financial advisors: Enabling partners and sales reps to automate their digital marketing processes and grow more sales opportunities has become the need-of-the-hour. Prospective customers are progressively making use of digital channels to undertake purchase decisions. Probable buyers tend use the rich content available on search engines, blogs and social media channels. This poses a challenge for marketers who are required to be present in these online channels at all times with content to guide buyers in their decisions. While the percentile of buyers demanding for inbound digital channels has surged, creating one’s own virtual presence calls for massive investment of time and resources. Hence it is important to get on board a holistic platform offering software automation, enablement, content, and support all under one roof.

Digital enablement & empowerment as a tactic for partner retention: Virtual enablement & empowerment techniques like Hybrid cloud modules can help support novel ways of functioning that have the capacity to meet shifting consumer and employee outlooks. These digitally-forward tactics also help the organization in retaining a certain level of control over partners, capabilities, security and compliance for applications. Digital empowerment tends to have a constructive impact on partner engagement. Through the progressions being made in digital technology, partners have been provided with tools required to access information, analyse results and make independent decisions, thus familiarizing them with the massive opportunity that lies ahead.

Financial institutions are re-designing the digital framework to address consumer necessities, there by generating a value-add for all stakeholders in the BFSI ecosystem.

Samit Arora, The Founder of SalesPanda