'The goal of customer service is not just to solve problems, but to retain customers and turn them into loyal advocates.'

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group

When a business is undergoing a core conversion - the process of updating or replacing a company's core system, platforms, and processes – it can be a complex and time-consuming undertaking. It requires significant resources and has a major impact on a financial institution's ability to serve its clients. Maintaining high-quality customer service during a core conversion is critical to retaining existing customers and preventing any potential customer losses. 

To ensure that service is maintained to an excellent standard during a period of change, many financial institutions turn to outsourcing customer service to a third-party vendor. Outsourcing this function can play a key role in ensuring that customers continue to receive high-quality service during the transition to new core systems and processes. This is especially important in the financial sector, where customers have high expectations and any disruptions in service can result in a loss of customers and revenue. 

In this post, we will explore the benefits that outsourcing brings, and how it can help improve customer retention.

5 key benefits to outsourcing customer service during a core conversion

1. Improved customer service

Partnering with a vendor who specializes in managing the change process for bank clients offers financial institutions the advantage of tapping into the expertise and proficiency of the third-party specialist. The vendor can: 

• Provide a dedicated team of customer service and support specialists who have received in-depth training and possess the knowledge to deliver exceptional customer experiences
• Help to minimize customer wait times as the vendor has a larger pool of resources readily available for customer service and support needs

2. Increased focus on core conversion

By outsourcing the customer service and support functions, financial institutions can focus their resources on other critical aspects of the core conversion. This includes tasks such as: 

• UAT and regression testing  
• Implementation of new product features 
• Data validation and migration 
• System integration 

Focusing on these important tasks can help ensure a successful core conversion, and outsourcing customer service and support functions can help ensure that customer service and support are not neglected during this process. 

3. Scalability and flexibility

Outsourcing allows companies to scale their customer service and support functions up or down, as needed, without having to worry about the impact on other areas of the business. This can be particularly beneficial for companies undergoing a core conversion, as the volume of customer service and support needs often fluctuate during this period. 

Additionally, outsourcing provides the flexibility to adjust internal customer service and support functions, as needed, to accommodate changes in the bank's customer base or way of business. 

4. Cost savings

Outsourcing reduces the need for companies to put money into building the tools, tech, and people needed to handle short term customer service needs in-house. It can:  

• Reduce the costs associated with training and developing a temporary customer service and support team acquired through staffing agencies 
• Provide economies of scale, as the vendor will have the resources and experience to provide customer support at a lower cost than the financial institution could on its own

5. Access to best practices and technology

Outsourcing to a vendor provides financial institutions with access to best practices and technology that may not be available in-house.  

In summary, outsourcing customer service during a core conversion can be a valuable strategy for companies looking to improve customer retention, particularly during a significant change that can cause disruption to the customer's everyday tasks.  

By leveraging the expertise and experience of a third-party vendor, banks can ensure that high customer service levels are maintained during a time of change preventing customer losses and ensuring customer satisfaction. Banks can then focus their resources on other critical aspects of the migration process. 

Case study snapshot

Discover how WesBanco achieved uninterrupted customer loyalty and scored a 100% customer satisfaction rating during platform migration.

Overview

WesBanco faced the complicated challenge of migrating 1,000 commercial clients from two different legacy RDC platforms, to a new go-forward RDC solution. This was followed by moving 20,000 commercial clients to a new business online banking platform within a four-month window.  

Despite the significant scale of the migration, and the fact that both systems were new to both internal bank staff and clients, WesBanco was able to successfully achieve a 100% customer satisfaction rating with the help of Superior. 

Key challenges

1. Migrating a large customer base to two new applications within a four-month window

2. Scheduling several thousand client preview sessions

3. Supporting customers in a live environment, post conversion

A two-phase migration

Phase 1: Migrating commercial clients to the go-forward RDC solution

WesBanco outsourced customer conversion support services to Superior’s Technical Assistance Center. Four Superior agents performed 365 installs per month, freeing up the bank’s internal resources for issue resolution and special technology needs. The conversion took place over a three-month period, including manual file creation from the legacy application. 

Phase 2: Migrating commercial clients to the new business online banking platform

In phase two of the migration, WesBanco's internal bank staff supported a four-week preview period alongside Superior’s Technical Assistance Center. 10 Superior agents performed 2,500 training sessions supporting client login, site navigation, and ACH/wire/positive pay. This phase involved the successful migration of 20,000 commercial clients. 

Conclusion

WesBanco's successful migration is a testament to the benefits of outsourcing customer service during a core conversion. The bank leveraged the expertise and experience of Superior, alongside their internal resources, minimizing customer wait times, improving the customer experience, and retaining 100% of their client base.

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'In the financial sector, customer retention is everything. It is the foundation of a successful business and the key to generating long-term, sustainable profits. By focusing on customer retention, financial institutions can build strong relationships with their customers, maintain their business, and achieve long-term success.'

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs

When selecting a customer service and support vendor, it is important for financial institutions to consider several factors, such as: 

• The vendor's experience and expertise 
• Customer satisfaction ratings 
• Cost  

Financial institutions should also ensure the vendor is able to provide the level of customer service and support required, and that the vendor has an excellent track record of success in similar projects. 

As specialists in delivering excellent customer service, we understand the importance of a positive customer experience during core conversions, RDC conversions, ACH and wire platform upgrades and other system platform changes. With a long history of excellence in treasury management, banking practices and customer experience, Superior is here to help you achieve your goals.