Co-operative Finance Puts Customer First With Web Self-service

Cambridge, UK, 27 May 2009. Co-operative Financial Services, which includes The Co-operative Bank, The Co-operative Insurance and The Co-operative Investments, is improving the customer experience on its Web site (www.co-operativebank.co.uk) with the launch of an interactive Web self-service solution. Using the service powered by Transversal, customers can get fast, accurate answers to queries across the Co-operative Web site. The service has been instantly adopted by customers, with 40,000 using the service in the second month of operation. Since the launch, over 98 per cent of customer queries have been answered online.

Co-operative Financial Services launched the system to further service the needs of its customers and maintain its excellent service levels. The system enables customers to find answers to specific questions as well as navigating them to the correct Web page that contains further details. Undoubtedly, customers appreciate having answers to questions at their fingertips, but it also benefits the contact centre staff who have time to deal with more complex queries.

Sean Barton, E-Business Manager at the Co-operative Financial Services, said: “Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction is the key USP of the Co-operative Financial Services; consequently we are continually looking at ways we can enhance our customer service. Following extensive research into Web self-service, we knew it had scope to improve the customer experience. We chose Transversal due to its rich natural language technology and strong track record.”

Co-operative Financial Services' knowledgebase currently contains 500 frequently asked questions and is growing as customer take-up increases. Additionally, by deploying Transversal’s Sales Engine, Co-operative Financial Services is able to serve up relevant, tailored advertising and special offers in line with questions asked. This is leading to greater customer engagement and sales conversions that can be tracked back to the customer's initial query,

Mark White, Business Development Director at Transversal, said: “We are delighted to be working with Co-operative Financial Services and to be part of its drive to deliver market leading customer satisfaction. It’s encouraging seeing just how quickly customers have adopted the service and it shows clearly that customers appreciate the intuitive way they can get immediate answers to their queries, rather than having to call or email an adviser. Ultimately, this is a good example of how a business can deliver efficiency whilst underpinning stronger customer relationships.”