Managing guests and customers at a bank branch is always challenging. Apart from other service sectors the banks have certain challenges that other businesses might not have. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE there are several banks which offer great value products for businesses and individuals. However, when it comes to services, every bank is different. That is why the customer values experience the most. The customers love to be treated like a VIP. Although offering VIP protocol to each customers is neither practical nor necessary. But a good branch experience could be a turning point for the customers. The way they got treated and the experience they had at a bank branch can influence their decision very heavily. If a customer had a bad experience then they will immediately switch to a competitor. These days it is lot easier, in fact almost every other bank is offering registration via online or from the mobile apps and then their representative will meet you at your office or home to do the formalities. That is why customer retention has become a huge challenge for customer experience management team. And dealing with long waiting lines, unhappy customers and crowded waiting areas could be a nightmare for the branch management.
A queue management system is a key to digital branch transformation. The customer’s experience in the branch will impact on their relationship with the bank. The customer retention for financial institutions is a very sophisticated work. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the market trends are slightly different from the rest of the world. The UAE as a country is a leading economy in the Middle East with a very attractive market, favorable government policies and great infrastructure for the businesses. This resulted in a huge growth in the banking sector as well. The customers here are from all around the world. The overall community is very well educated and the market is extremely competitive which leads to even higher expectations from the banks. A queue management system provides excellent customer experience and more control and visibility of the customer flow process and customer journey.A queuing system can provide a greater competitive advantage and let your bank stand out of the crowed. A bank needs a flawless customer journey, smooth customer flow, great customer experience and very comprehensive intelligence data in order to monitor and keep improving everything. Here is how a queue management system can solve all those problems:
Queue Management System Reduce Wait Time at Banks
Let us admit, no one likes to wait in the long queues or congested waiting areas. People just don’t like waiting. As much as their waiting time increases their stress level also increases. Which leads to further inconvenience for both the customer and the staff as well. Think a customer had to wait for almost 45 minutes to reach to a service counter, where a service agent had already dealt with 2 out of 5 angry customers who were also annoyed by the long waiting time, what will happen next? It is no brainer that the chances of a satisfactory experience for this customer with this server are slim to none. No matter how hard you trained your staff or how experienced they are, one can only suppress a limited emotional pressure and stress, eventually it will start reflecting on their behavior. The waiting time for banks or any other business is way too damaging than usually businesses anticipate. That is why the waiting time is considered to be the most important aspect of any customer journey. A queue management system is a great tool to reduce waiting time from somewhere 30% to even 80% in some cases.
A queue management system digitalize many steps of customer journey. It streamline customer flow with in-built features that enable banks to automate various processes and utilize resources more efficiently. This alone can reduce the burden of your staff by up to 60%. Imagine you have manual queues where people are waiting in lines, the least your staff would want to deal would be the line jumpers and disputes among the customers. In order to improve customer flow the bank will have to deploy more resources, which is also expensive. Even then if more staff members are deployed in the waiting areas, the service agents will still have to deal with a lot of irrelevant stuff. For example, there are several counters, some are dedicated for certain services, in manual queuing the chances are a few customers will always end up in wrong queues. Which will result in delay, and the agent will have to do extra efforts to adjust them in the right queue. There are tons of other things that both the customers and the staff will have to deal with if there is no proper queue management system in place.
A queue management system automates the ticket issuing process. Usually it comes with an interactive kiosk machine which dispense the tickets. The customers and visitors can be asked to choose which service they are intended to use. This prevent any confusion among the customers and also save prevent a lot of unexpected delays in customer flow. Furthermore it frees the service agent from additional work and let them focus on the service delivery instead. Which improves their efficiency and productivity and results in quicker service delivery. The quicker service delivery means less waiting time for each customer. As the queue management system is a digital system so every customer will know that their ticket numbers, the customer flow and everything is controlled by the computer, hence no one will have any complaint and no one will cause any interruption. Which significantly reduce waiting time as well. If a single customer had a complaint, it will take more time at the counter while debating with the server, hence the waiting time will add up to all of the remaining customers. A queue management system prevent all such problems and reduce the customer wait time.
Queue Management System Automates Customer Journey
For a service based business such as banks it is crucial to manage the customer flow and customer journey in a well-organized manner. There are several services that a bank can offers, some of them are pretty straight forward and some are not. There are two major classifications of the services, some services can be delivered through a single counter, and some require the customers to go to more than one counters. Such scenarios can add up to the complexity of the customer journey and it can also result in disturbances and mismanagement in the customer flow. A queue management system is a digital tool powered by a very intelligent and capable software. The queue management system comes with several customer flow management tools such as AI powered smart software engine, signs and stanchions, line dividers and barriers, floor stickers, physical signs, digital signs and much more. Which not only automates customer flow but also effectively manages customer journey without any intervention of the staff. In case of stepped services the queue management system can automatically direct customers to the right counter.
In the banking sector the customers are of different value, priority and importance. Some customers are more important and are entitled to special treatment and exclusive customer journey. A queue management system can effectively manages all those customer segments with different priority levels with 100% accuracy. Furthermore there are usually exclusive counters for such customers which are used to improve the customer journey of the priority customers without disturbing the regular customers. A queue management system can also handle all these needs with 100% accuracy. A modern queue management system is powered by AI and advance smart technologies which enables it to automatically analyze the historic and current data and on the bases of these analysis the queue management system can make decisions in real-time which further help improving the customer journey and customer experience. All this is done by the smart algorithms of the queue management system and doesn’t require any human assistance. Although the management can program a variety of flows in the back-office or administrative control panel of the queue management system software.
Queue Management System Enhances Customer Experience
Reducing customer wait time and automating customer journey in itself is a significant improvement in customer experience. However, a queue management system is capable of much more. A standard modern queue management system can offer a variety of engagement features to the bank customers which keep their interest and reduce their boredom of waiting. The most important is the usage of digital signage. A queue management system includes digital signage which run entertaining content, marketing materials or any other eye-catchy multimedia content which keeps customer busy during their waiting time and it reduces their stress as well. Furthermore these days in Dubai, UAE the audio announcements are also considered to be an industry standard now. The audio announcements comes with a very attractive tone or small ring which immediately capture customers’ attention. It announces the next ticket number and the designated counter number, which keep customer distracted from the waiting and improve their waiting experience.
One of the most important feature of a queue management system is that it intensively gather business intelligence data and it can also perform analysis on the data in real-time. Usually these analysis are done on a server which makes the system super-efficient and eliminate any latency. On the bases of these analysis the queue management system can predict the estimated time of turn for any customer. Usually that time is printed on their ticket and it can also be displayed on the digital signage screen. The estimated time to turn might looks like a small feature but it has a huge psychological effect on the customer. The studies have revealed that our brain is programmed to fear the unknown. That is something which is embedded in our DNA. You must be thinking what does a harmless queue management system has to do with the fear of unknown. Well, it is the human psychology. No matter if it is dangerous or not if something is unknown to us it will make us uncomfortable. In case of waiting time, when the time is not known, one can only speculate, which add more to their stress and discomfort. That is why it is very important to provide estimated time to turn and it can significantly improve customer experience.
Virtual Queuing Offers Ultimate Customer Satisfaction
The primary goal of improving customer experience is to achieve the maximum customer satisfaction. A happy and satisfied customer is most likely to spread good words about the bank and it could also attract more customers. Furthermore the loyal customers are tend to tolerate several bad experiences before they decided to switch to a competitor. The loyal customers are a great asset for a bank and they can generate a huge revenue as well. That is why it is crucial to keep your customer happy and satisfied. One of the most modern form of queuing is the virtual queuing. The virtual queue management system integrate modern technologies to further enhance the customer experience. The main aim here is to reduce the wait time and customer journey. The virtual queuing uses a variety of mobile mediums to allow the customers and visitors to sign-up remotely for virtual queues. That mean the customer can sign-up for a queue without even physically arriving at the bank.
The queue management system offers WhatsApp, QR code, websites, mobile applications, customer portals and a variety of other digital channels which enable a customer to sign-up without even physically arriving at the bank branch. Hence they have freedom to arrive only when their turn will come. This literally eliminates the wait time completely. There is no customer wait time at all. The virtual queuing also provide more flexibility and control to the service agents by enabling multiple communication channels between them and the customers. For example, the WhatsApp can be used for communication where the customers can also respond or ask questions to the assigned service agent. Similarly the agents can send SMS to notify the customers about any change and the virtual queue management system can also send alerts via SMS, Email, Online Customer Portal, Mobile App – Push Notifications, etc. The virtual queuing can offer a great value to customer experience.
Queue Management System Integration with Third-Party Systems
A queue management system can offer a variety of innovative features if it can be integrated with other existing software and systems. Usually banks have a centralized information center. The queue management system can be linked with customer database, customer relationship management tools, centralized information center, sales data, performance management system, etc. The third-party integration is not only limited to the software, in fact a modern queue management system includes an interactive self-service kiosk machine. Banks can have additional peripherals and hardware devices linked to this kiosk to further improve the customer experience and customer journey. For example, banks can link Emirates ID card reader, or a document scanner for self-service registration process or it can linked a fingerprint scanner, etc. The customer identification can help improving the service quality and it can also push customer data and required service at the agent’s computer beforehand which can significantly reduce the customer wait time. The queue management system supports all API based integrations and automatic data synchronization.
Queue Management System Mobile Apps & Appoint Booking Modules
The same way a queue management system can be integrated with other software and hardware tools, it can also be integrated with a mobile app and online appointment booing module. The mobile app allow users to perform all basic queue management system related tasks as well as some additional features which make customer experience more convenient and satisfactory. For example the most widely used queue management system mobile app feature is its bank branch finder. The bank branch finder in a feature that is integrated with maps and queue management system of the bank and when a user searches for a nearest branch, it can show them all branches that are located in the searched area. That is not all, the queue management system mobile app can also display the queuing data in real-time from each branch with estimated time to turn at each nearby branch. This help the customer decide where they should go. Furthermore the appointment booking module can be integrated in the customer portal as well as the smartphone application. The appointment booking module also provide additional details about the expected traffic at the selected time and day based on the historic data and analysis.
Queue Management System can Collect Customer Feedback Data
The customer feedback data collection is very important for customer experience management. Banks have multiple channels to collect customer feedback, these days mostly the digital channels are used as the traditional and manual feedback collection is difficult, require a lot of resources, the data collection and processing is difficult and the response rate is also low. However, the queue management system can not only collect customer feedback but it can deliver both high quality and quantity data as well. Furthermore the queue management system also facilitate the customer feedback campaigns by making them super-easy for the customers. Hence huge data can be accumulated easily. Usually banks use small touch screens, tablets or iPads to collect customer feedback data from inside the branch. Majorly this feedback is related to their experience, overall journey, the service agent, or the product they are using. The queue management system have ability to link customer profile with their feedback without asking them to enter their name, phone number, email or any other detail. For the customers, it is just one or two taps on the touch screen and their feedback is submitted. That is why the queue management system is a great tool to collect customer feedback data from customers and visitors.
Queue Management System Collects Valuable Business Intelligence and Performance Data
Modern day businesses are heavily relying on the IT (information technology). Banks and every other business collects a huge amount of data, which is processed, analyzed and then utilized in their decision making and strategy building process. This data is called business intelligence data. A queue management system can capture data from all touch points at the entire customer journey. For example, the number of customers signed-up for the queue, what services got most requests, what was the customer churn rate, individual and average wait time, individual and average service delivery time, the service agent performance and much more. The beauty of a digital solution is that such type of data collection is a very simple tasks, however, the data processing and analysis could be trickier. A queue management system collects a huge amount of data on daily bases, it automatically stores it in relevant segments or data repositories and made it available for the bank management. The queue management systems are built on a very smart and intelligent software engine which has capabilities to automatically analyze the data, derive results and then take decisions in the real time to impact the queuing process.
Furthermore all that data that is collected directly from the queue management system and all other data that is collected by other systems is combined and made available for the management. This data can be accessed in the system, various types of analysis can be performed within just a few clicks, and reports can be generated. There is no chance of mistake or error in automatic data collection and processing. The queue management system can monitor and measure the employee performance with great precision. How much time a service agent spent on the counter, their complete activity record, how many customers they served with each individual service time and average performance of the day. The queue management system’ performance data can also provide information about employee performance such as which employee is good at what service? Which services take more time for them and so on. All this data can be channeled to the HR for the HR purposes as well and it can be used to initiate training and employee development programs as well.
Banks can also configure the queue management system so it automatically direct the customers to the counters where the chances are they will get quicker service delivery. The business intelligence data and the performance data a queue management system collects can be automatically channeled to the relevant departments for their perusal. Management can incorporate the queue management system data in their policy making and strategy building process to efficiently utilize resources and to ensure the maximum outcome can be obtained with the limited resources. Furthermore this data can be used to highlight the areas of improvement which can be addressed to boot the customer experience.
Conclusion
A queue management system is not just a customer flow management tool for the banks, in fact it is a full-fledged bank branch transformation tool. It has ability to digitalize and automate several internal processes which not only help reducing the resources but at the same time these features can enhance the customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system can significantly reduce the customer wait time, improve churn rate, reduce employee workload, it keeps the customers engaged and happy throughout their entire journey. The queue management system can be easily integrated with other enterprise tools and bank’s internal systems to further introduce innovative features.
A queue management system is a great source of valuable business intelligence and performance data. The data quality and accuracy is exceptional. The queue management system can also be customized to match the bank’s needs and offer them a tailor-made solution which aligns completely with their internal business processes and help them improve the overall productivity, profitability and growth. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system brand in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with a completely customized or ready-made queue management system for your business please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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