LAS VEGAS-It isn't always easy to convey trust over the telephone, but it's critical, according to one analyst.
One of the competitive advantages that credit unions continue to maintain is that American consumers typically give them high marks on the trust spectrum. Events of the past several years, however, have shaken trust with all financial institutions. One of the goals for increasing membership is to serve as trusted advisors to members.
One of the ways to become a trusted advisor is to develop a product strategy.
"You look at your product line and life events and think about taking your membership from cradle to grave," offered Jim Vitali, SVP with SWBC in San Antonio, Texas, which offers call center services to credit unions. "What do those babies need that your credit union can provide? Is it life insurance? Look at a life event strategy for your credit union and develop that next round of strategy."
Call centers, noted Vitali, have become the front lines and sometimes revenue generators for the financial services industry because consumers still want to talk to a human being about their financial lives.
Vitali has more than 25 years of experience in the call center industry, including working with USAA, which is an industry leader and consistently has the highest Net Promoter Score among its peers in the financial services industry.
NPS measures a relationship with an organization and how likely one is to recommend it to friends and family. Each of the groups of people is separated into promoters, passives and detractors. The score is based on 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest recommendation.
San Antonio is a contact center hub that includes USAA, Citigroup, American Funds and State Farm. Call centers typically train their employees and they will leave for other organizations in the San Antonio area. Turnover for call centers averages approximately 35% to 40% in the industry. "We want to try and retain employees," says Vitali. "We want to be known as a place where people are recognized for what they do, they are happy to come to work."
