Ask yourself, just how many apps you’ve been using? Probably one for video meetings, another for messaging and at least one specialist fintech app. We are also rethinking how we work.
Reliable communications are critical to brokers – if phones aren’t ringing, then commission opportunities are not coming in or progressing – but this no longer means being tethered to a landline phone with complex call forwarding options and fixed working hours. In the digital workplace, business communications and files follow you on all your devices wherever you go.
One app for everything
Understanding cloud-based communications is simple – most brokers are probably using UCaaS (unified communications as a service) already when they open an app to send a chat or create a simple video message.
UCaaS is a secure and compliant way to integrate multiple communications methods such as voice, video, chat, texting and file sharing through a single cloud provider, a single bill and just one number, which reaches you across all your devices – desk phone, mobile, or laptop. Audio and video move seamlessly between devices, for example, if you need to leave your desk halfway through a meeting and become mobile to do the school run or head for the gym.
Experience economy
Today’s economy can be described as an ‘experience economy’ because how people feel about their interactions with businesses is now as important – if not more – than the products and services they buy.
This means that every customer-facing business must strive to create memorable moments that shape customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty or run the risk of negative social media reviews and loss of repeat business. Part of the experience economy is what Gartner research has identified as the “everything customer” who wants seemingly contradictory things: self-service but also human interaction; a personalised experience, but doesn’t want to wait; to be treated equally but served uniquely, to enjoy full and effortless features and to receive consistent and expected service.
The everything customer highlights how a customer-facing business needs to change to manage this new mindset. These customers will go somewhere else if they don’t receive great service; but if a service provider’s customer service is excellent, they’ll benefit from repeat business and recommendations.
UCaaS benefits customers because it means improved broker reachability and an all-in-one solution creating a holistic customer experience that makes them feel valued. With brokers often acting as their own customer contact centres, they need to be sure never to miss a call, to be contactable in whichever way a client or potential client wants and to enable easy, always-on continuous collaboration with clients and mortgage providers as required.
As we build the new world of work, we must emphasise efficient collaboration and focus on what makes us productive. UCaaS solutions can empower customers and brokers alike to communicate in the ways that work for them.
The Marsden Building Society
As the business requirements of financial services companies change, an investment in UCaaS can be a critical part of digital transformation strategies. A recent investment in UCaaS by Lancashire’s largest building society, The Marsden, reflects how it chose to empower its employees to move forward into the dynamic and collaborative new world of work with a communications technology platform.
This sets out to deliver great experiences for employees and the people they need to communicate with whether in the office, working from home or on the move with mobile.
