Reducing a backlog of 170 000 customer service messages to 0, and enabling a strategic shift from email-style to live chat
Situation
Swedbank had two inbound digital customer service channels: “Bank messages”, a long-form, email style secure messaging system, shown here, and the chatbot for customer service.
The Bank messages were serviced by a customer service desk staffed with advisors across the country. Advisors would reply to inbound customer messages in their queue.
This queue had gotten completely out of control, with customer wait times as long as 170 hours before even getting a reply, and 17,000 messages in the backlog.
Swedbank had an internally acknowledged strategy to start customer service errands with the chatbot, and then escalate to human support when needed.
On reviewing the current state of the page, it did not appear that the interface supported the strategy, with the contact us page showing a list of phone numbers, and the messages page indicating the ability to write a new message as a priority, with the only CTA for the chatbot sitting on the bottom-right hand corner of the page.
Task
We were tasked with aligning the interface to the strategy, and alleviating the workload on the advisors to enable an operational shift towards live chat rather than asynchronous Bank messages.
In order to fully understand how to achieve this without negative customer impacts, we wanted to walk in the shoes of our advisors, understand what the customer service leadership wanted, as well as understand how our customers perceived service errands, and ensure we were keeping up with competitive trends.
Action
Based on the findings, my team redesigned the contact us page to position the chatbot as the clear primary function of the page. A right hand sidebar was added to provide a safety net, after testing demonstrated a higher usage rate of the chatbot if phone numbers were also present.
This sidebar became useful later as an opportunity for additional features, such as appointment booking.
Chips with pre-loaded subject areas were initially used to prompt customers to the kind of message the bot could answer, though these were removed as customers became comfortable with the new interface.
The mobile app page was also redesigned in a modified way to suit the app information architecture and navigation.
Results
2x chatbot volumes
The single biggest step change in chatbot conversations handled since its introduction
Averted a customer service crisis
In February 2023, the Swedish government announced an energy benefit scheme, which would be administered by Swedbank. The chatbot handled 500 000 messages in the month, a volume which would have crippled Swedbank’s contact centres
Eliminated the queue
As a result of the change, the 170 hour, 17 000 long queue of Bank messages was entirely eliminated, enabling the shift toward live chat customer service
No meaningful negative customer impact
The CSAT scores remained steady as the chatbot volumes increased, and a new CSAT was measured – a Chatbot + Live Chat, which became the new high water mark for customer service at Swedbank
European Customer Centricity Award
The transformation was awarded silver at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards in the category of Most Effective Strategic Transformation Programme