Name: The central role of contact centers in AI-driven customer experience
Uploaded: 2024-09-19T14:11:33.539Z
Duration: 685.28
Description: Join Rahul Kumar, Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services and Insurance at Talkdesk, as he discusses the what financial institutions are doing to overcome the barriers to delivering a superior customer experience. Including why leaders are prioritizing the contact center as a central part of their AI and CX strategy.

FF.SP.05 - Rahul Kumar -.mp4

Talkdesk is on a mission to rid the world of bad customer experience. With our cloud-native, AI-powered customer experience platform, purpose-built industry solutions, and extensible AI offerings, we empower enterprises in the cloud and on premises to deliver exceptional customer experiences that make them more competitive, grow revenue, reduce costs, and provide operational efficiencies. With specialized workflows and integrations delivered out of the box for our Industry Experience Clouds, Talkdesk accelerates value for our customers, faster and more simply than legacy or one-size-fits-all solutions.

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FF.SP.05 - Rahul Kumar -.vtt

English

{{00:00:05}}
Hello, I'm David Penn,
Research Analyst with Finovate.

{{00:00:07}}
We're here at Finovate
Fall 2024 in New York City.

{{00:00:10}}
And joining me for a brief
conversation is Rahul Kumar.

{{00:00:12}}
He is the Vice President and General
Manager of Financial Services

{{00:00:15}}
and Insurance with Talkdesk.

{{00:00:16}}
Thank you very much for joining us today.

{{00:00:17}}
Thanks, David.

{{00:00:18}}
Nice to be here.

{{00:00:19}}
How are you doing?

{{00:00:20}}
I'm doing great.

{{00:00:20}}


{{00:00:21}}
Let's jump right into the
conversation, if we could.

{{00:00:23}}
In your experience, how has the thinking
on customer experience evolved over time?

{{00:00:27}}
From the perspective of a
senior leader like yourself.

{{00:00:29}}
I think one of the things that
we're seeing in the industry is

{{00:00:33}}
CX is fast becoming a strategic
initiative for executives across the

{{00:00:38}}
board, for banks and credit unions.

{{00:00:41}}
They, talked to us recently, did
a survey where we polled over

{{00:00:45}}
200 professionals managing CX and
the responses were unsurprising.

{{00:00:51}}
And 86 percent of executives
responded saying that they do

{{00:00:55}}
believe CX is a strategic investment
priority that can lead to brand

{{00:00:59}}
differentiation for themselves.

{{00:01:01}}
63 percent felt that they
could tie CX metrics to value.

{{00:01:06}}
And 80 percent do believe that
contact center is becoming fast a

{{00:01:11}}
strategic investment area for them.

{{00:01:13}}
It's definitely top of
mind for executives.

{{00:01:15}}
We are very excited around some of the
work and the innovation that is impacting

{{00:01:20}}
customer experience in this space.

{{00:01:22}}
And as an organization, TalkDesk is
seeing incredible momentum working with

{{00:01:26}}
banks and credit unions, helping them
transform customer experience and make

{{00:01:30}}
that a key part of their differentiation
when it comes to their brands.

{{00:01:34}}
That makes a great deal of sense,
and the number that she gave us,

{{00:01:37}}
upwards of 80%, certainly reflects an
understanding of the importance of CX,

{{00:01:42}}
but at the same time, it's not that easy
necessarily to implement and deliver.

{{00:01:45}}
Why is it so hard to get that superior
customer experience to customers?

{{00:01:48}}
I think it goes down to a
couple of factors, David.

{{00:01:53}}
One is, primarily, I think financial
services institutions still

{{00:02:00}}
operate as a siloed organization.

{{00:02:04}}
At times they do have a product
orientation and less customer orientation.

{{00:02:09}}
So they, you know, it's, everybody talks
about customer experience, but they, you

{{00:02:13}}
know, the way their operating models are
structured, they continue to you know,

{{00:02:18}}
run with deposits, lending, and nobody is
truly owning the overall customer journey.

{{00:02:25}}
And what that the way they are
structured and organized, what it

{{00:02:28}}
leads to is a fragmented siloed
technology investment decision making.

{{00:02:34}}
What happens is every part of the
organization is looking at their

{{00:02:38}}
products, their experience, and
not looking at it holistically.

{{00:02:43}}
And then they end up with a
cluttered technology ecosystem which

{{00:02:46}}
leads to you know, which brings
friction into the journeys, right?

{{00:02:52}}
If I have a deposit relationship with
the bank, I have a credit card, I

{{00:02:55}}
have a loan, I have a business banking
relationship, I, as a customer, expect

{{00:03:01}}
to be treated the same irrespective
of what I'm reaching out to them for.

{{00:03:07}}
And a lot of time, that
isn't the case, right?

{{00:03:10}}
And more importantly, as customer
expectations have evolved and everybody

{{00:03:14}}
wants to be engaging in the channels
that they want to engage with their

{{00:03:17}}
institutions, they want Most of the
channels are not connected as well.

{{00:03:22}}
So there's no unification of data, there's
no unification of channels, and that's

{{00:03:27}}
where, that's what creates blind spot in
the customer journey, and that's where

{{00:03:30}}
the experience breaks down, essentially.

{{00:03:32}}
Yeah, that's a really great point.

{{00:03:33}}
I mean, you think of it as a customer,
we might have many varied interests,

{{00:03:36}}
but we're a singular entity.

{{00:03:37}}
And oftentimes the institutions see
it almost the other way around, that

{{00:03:41}}
they see us as a singular entity.

{{00:03:42}}
So, it's a fragmented entity and
they try to treat us that way.

{{00:03:44}}
Very, very interesting point.

{{00:03:45}}
I'm curious, from your perspective
and what you've seen, what are some

{{00:03:48}}
of these financial institutions trying
to do to overcome these challenges?

{{00:03:51}}
One of the, I think three things right?

{{00:03:54}}
One of the things that we are
seeing increased adoption of is,

{{00:03:59}}
removing capability based automation.

{{00:04:02}}
investment decisions, right?

{{00:04:04}}
So taking a more of a platform
based strategy to how they want

{{00:04:07}}
to orchestrate customer journeys.

{{00:04:09}}
That's something that is, you know,
we're very excited about the possibility

{{00:04:13}}
that, leading with platforms and
not capabilities is a conversation

{{00:04:16}}
that's happening today with a lot
of different organizations, right?

{{00:04:20}}
The second aspect of that is also.

{{00:04:24}}
creating ownership and accountability
around who owns the customer journey.

{{00:04:28}}
Creating customer journey cabinets,
making, leaders within the organization

{{00:04:32}}
truly accountable so that the decision
making that I spoke about can be unified.

{{00:04:37}}
So investment decisions
are not fragmented.

{{00:04:40}}
They're taking the entire the customer
journey cabinets are responsible for

{{00:04:43}}
the end to end journey of that that
the institutions are putting forward.

{{00:04:47}}
And I think at the end of the day,
Taking that platform approach is allowing

{{00:04:51}}
organizations to unify channels and
data which, and when that happens, then

{{00:04:57}}
AI can be, you know, we, everybody is
talking about AI, but AI can be a big

{{00:05:02}}
step up incremental differentiator
that helps them overcome some of the

{{00:05:07}}
traditional you know, challenges that
whether it's poor experiences resource

{{00:05:12}}
challenges, AI can be a big step up.

{{00:05:15}}
Overlay to help organizations
overcome some of the traditional

{{00:05:19}}
challenges that they see.

{{00:05:21}}
Very interesting.

{{00:05:22}}
A little while ago you mentioned
contact centers, and just now

{{00:05:24}}
you mentioned AI, and I wanted
to talk about both a little bit.

{{00:05:27}}
I'm curious why leaders are starting to
prioritize the contact center as a place

{{00:05:30}}
for really deploying strategies with
regard to both AI and customer experience.

{{00:05:34}}
So it's a two part answer
to that question, David.

{{00:05:37}}
One the contact center organizations
are realizing that the contact center,

{{00:05:43}}
pretty much is becoming the digital
front door for those brands, right?

{{00:05:48}}
Because the contact center is
not just a call center anymore.

{{00:05:52}}
The contact center can absorb interactions
that are happening within your branches.

{{00:05:58}}
It can absorb interactions that
are happening on your websites.

{{00:06:01}}
It can happen, it can absorb
conversations that are happening behind

{{00:06:04}}
the login inside your mobile app.

{{00:06:07}}
All of those kind of conversations.

{{00:06:08}}
can be brought in seamlessly on modern
contact center platforms and unify, right?

{{00:06:15}}
And then you are able to orchestrate
not just the traditional call experience

{{00:06:19}}
or a voice experience for your
customers, you're now leading with

{{00:06:23}}
digital, you're leading with AI, and
you are able to utilize modern contact

{{00:06:28}}
center platforms to orchestrate and
differentiate your brand and you can

{{00:06:34}}
match the experiences that you have.

{{00:06:36}}
We as customers have gotten
accustomed to from retail, from

{{00:06:40}}
high tech organizations, right?

{{00:06:41}}
So banks are taking note of that and are
looking at contact center platforms that

{{00:06:46}}
are providing much more capabilities than
before to orchestrate those experiences.

{{00:06:53}}
That's one part of that.

{{00:06:54}}
The other part of the equation is because
of the advent of AI, AI is delivering

{{00:07:03}}
incredible results when it comes to,
efficiency and, employee effectiveness.

{{00:07:09}}
With that it is creating,
generating capacity.

{{00:07:12}}
When you think about it when human
capital was traditionally in the

{{00:07:16}}
contact center, was handled, handling
mundane tasks that are now being able,

{{00:07:21}}
that are now being able to automate
organizations are being able to automate.

{{00:07:25}}
In those scenarios, what do
you do with that capacity?

{{00:07:28}}
So now you can think about additional
use cases where you can actually utilize

{{00:07:33}}
that additional capacity to deliver
financial wellness conversations.

{{00:07:38}}
So it's not the contact center
resources are not just answering

{{00:07:42}}
questions around balances, transactions.

{{00:07:45}}
They can actually engage with proper
training and change management,

{{00:07:48}}
obviously they can engage in financial
wellness conversations You know

{{00:07:52}}
deliver look out for the financial
well being for your customer base.

{{00:07:56}}
So that's an interesting dynamic
as well You're generating capacity

{{00:07:59}}
to do a lot more and do a lot more
higher value Conversations than the

{{00:08:03}}
traditional low value conversations
that happen in the context That makes

{{00:08:07}}
a great deal of sense, and I think
it's also a helpful reminder of why a

{{00:08:09}}
contact center is not a call center.

{{00:08:11}}
It's far more, and will be
perhaps far more going forward.

{{00:08:14}}
I thought maybe by way of wrapping
up, we talked a bit about what

{{00:08:17}}
institutions challenges are facing.

{{00:08:18}}
We've talked a little bit
about what they're trying to

{{00:08:20}}
do to face those challenges.

{{00:08:21}}
I wanted to wrap up by talking
about what TalkDesk is doing to

{{00:08:24}}
help them overcome these challenges.

{{00:08:26}}
One of the things that TalkDesk has
done is, we've taken a deep vertical

{{00:08:30}}
approach to solving issue sets that
we see common across the industry.

{{00:08:35}}
So Talkdesk is a, we are
a value led organization.

{{00:08:39}}
We are an industry focused organization,
so basically identifying the pain points

{{00:08:43}}
in the customer journey and bringing
issue sets that are solving for that.

{{00:08:47}}
We are identifying common
technology sets and stacks.

{{00:08:51}}
Where we, talkdesk is becoming a
fast, becoming an ecosystem player,

{{00:08:55}}
so irrespective of the existing
technology stack that exists

{{00:08:58}}
within a bank or a credit union.

{{00:09:00}}
Talkdesk can seamlessly plug in
and significantly accelerate time

{{00:09:03}}
to value for their investments.

{{00:09:06}}
But more importantly, I think, because
we are a value oriented organization,

{{00:09:10}}
we can engage in conversations around
what is the return on investments

{{00:09:15}}
organizations can expect when it comes to
their investment in customer experience.

{{00:09:20}}
What metrics matter?

{{00:09:21}}
How do the, how are we able to
influence some of those metrics?

{{00:09:26}}
How far can you move the needle?

{{00:09:28}}
And then we also do a compare and contrast
with some of our customers to see, within

{{00:09:32}}
your peer group, how are you performing?

{{00:09:34}}
Right, because there's always this open
question, okay, customer experience is

{{00:09:40}}
important, but where are the benchmarks?

{{00:09:43}}
So our ability to put the, put
organizations  in meaningful cohorts,

{{00:09:48}}
where we can do a compare and contrast
around the maturity around which they

{{00:09:52}}
are absorbing technology, and where
they're not absorbing technology.

{{00:09:54}}
and then utilizing the technology
to move the needle forward.

{{00:09:58}}
That's how we make a difference, right?

{{00:10:00}}
Because we're continuously challenging
organizations to do more with the

{{00:10:04}}
technology that they already have.

{{00:10:06}}
So it's not just, hey, you plug
it in and we walk away, and

{{00:10:09}}
then you never hear from us.

{{00:10:10}}
We stay very close to the customers
and we continuously challenge them

{{00:10:14}}
to continue to push the envelope and
utilize technology to make a difference.

{{00:10:19}}
Interesting, interesting.

{{00:10:20}}
Well, very much appreciated
the conversation with you.

{{00:10:22}}
Very much looking forward to finding
out more about Talkdesk over the

{{00:10:25}}
weeks, months, and years to come.

{{00:10:26}}
So thank you very much for sitting
down with us for a little bit.

{{00:10:27}}
I appreciate the opportunity.

{{00:10:29}}
Thank you, David.

{{00:10:29}}
I really enjoyed the conversation.

{{00:10:31}}
Great.

{{00:10:31}}
And thank you as well.

{{00:10:32}}
Thank you.

Hello, I'm David Penn,
Research Analyst with Finovate.

We're here at Finovate
Fall 2024 in New York City.

And joining me for a brief
conversation is Rahul Kumar.

He is the Vice President and General
Manager of Financial Services

Thank you very much for joining us today.

Let's jump right into the
conversation, if we could.

In your experience, how has the thinking
on customer experience evolved over time?

From the perspective of a
senior leader like yourself.

I think one of the things that
we're seeing in the industry is

CX is fast becoming a strategic
initiative for executives across the

They, talked to us recently, did
a survey where we polled over

200 professionals managing CX and
the responses were unsurprising.

And 86 percent of executives
responded saying that they do

believe CX is a strategic investment
priority that can lead to brand

63 percent felt that they
could tie CX metrics to value.

And 80 percent do believe that
contact center is becoming fast a

It's definitely top of
mind for executives.

We are very excited around some of the
work and the innovation that is impacting

And as an organization, TalkDesk is
seeing incredible momentum working with

banks and credit unions, helping them
transform customer experience and make

that a key part of their differentiation
when it comes to their brands.

That makes a great deal of sense,
and the number that she gave us,

upwards of 80%, certainly reflects an
understanding of the importance of CX,

but at the same time, it's not that easy
necessarily to implement and deliver.

Why is it so hard to get that superior
customer experience to customers?

I think it goes down to a
couple of factors, David.

One is, primarily, I think financial
services institutions still

At times they do have a product
orientation and less customer orientation.

So they, you know, it's, everybody talks
about customer experience, but they, you

know, the way their operating models are
structured, they continue to you know,

run with deposits, lending, and nobody is
truly owning the overall customer journey.

And what that the way they are
structured and organized, what it

leads to is a fragmented siloed
technology investment decision making.

What happens is every part of the
organization is looking at their

products, their experience, and
not looking at it holistically.

And then they end up with a
cluttered technology ecosystem which

leads to you know, which brings
friction into the journeys, right?

If I have a deposit relationship with
the bank, I have a credit card, I

have a loan, I have a business banking
relationship, I, as a customer, expect

to be treated the same irrespective
of what I'm reaching out to them for.

And a lot of time, that
isn't the case, right?

And more importantly, as customer
expectations have evolved and everybody

wants to be engaging in the channels
that they want to engage with their

institutions, they want Most of the
channels are not connected as well.

So there's no unification of data, there's
no unification of channels, and that's

where, that's what creates blind spot in
the customer journey, and that's where

I mean, you think of it as a customer,
we might have many varied interests,

And oftentimes the institutions see
it almost the other way around, that

So, it's a fragmented entity and
they try to treat us that way.

I'm curious, from your perspective
and what you've seen, what are some

of these financial institutions trying
to do to overcome these challenges?

One of the things that we are
seeing increased adoption of is,

So taking a more of a platform
based strategy to how they want

That's something that is, you know,
we're very excited about the possibility

that, leading with platforms and
not capabilities is a conversation

that's happening today with a lot
of different organizations, right?

creating ownership and accountability
around who owns the customer journey.

Creating customer journey cabinets,
making, leaders within the organization

truly accountable so that the decision
making that I spoke about can be unified.

So investment decisions
are not fragmented.

They're taking the entire the customer
journey cabinets are responsible for

the end to end journey of that that
the institutions are putting forward.

And I think at the end of the day,
Taking that platform approach is allowing

organizations to unify channels and
data which, and when that happens, then

AI can be, you know, we, everybody is
talking about AI, but AI can be a big

step up incremental differentiator
that helps them overcome some of the

traditional you know, challenges that
whether it's poor experiences resource

Overlay to help organizations
overcome some of the traditional

A little while ago you mentioned
contact centers, and just now

you mentioned AI, and I wanted
to talk about both a little bit.

I'm curious why leaders are starting to
prioritize the contact center as a place

for really deploying strategies with
regard to both AI and customer experience.

So it's a two part answer
to that question, David.

One the contact center organizations
are realizing that the contact center,

pretty much is becoming the digital
front door for those brands, right?

Because the contact center is
not just a call center anymore.

FinovateFall

Expert Insight

Join Rahul Kumar, Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services and Insurance at Talkdesk, as he discusses the what financial institutions are doing to overcome the barriers to delivering a superior customer experience. Including why leaders are prioritizing the contact center as a central part of their AI and CX strategy.