Standard Life is working with IBM to personalise financial services for its UK customer base.
The investment company has plans to work in real-time in order to better support the needs of its customers as they plan and invest by using analytics.
The analytics technology, which is being provided by IBM, will enable the bank to accurately track a person’s interactions across different screens and devices by examining both structured and unstructured data.
Stephen Ingledew, MD, Marketing, Standard Life, UK said: "Today we are truly working towards a segment of one and as a result, our customer communications must be personalized at a depth unimaginable just a few years ago."
Ingledew highlights the customer demand for an increased depth of personalised knowledge when it comes to financial services.
The demand from customers is creating increased pressure to act, something that is compounded by the increased threat being posed by fintechs.
In addition to the analytics tools, Standard Life is using IBM Campaign and Interact, these help the investment company to turn analytic insights into customer snapshots that help to identify what exactly a person’s financial needs are and what their long-term aspirations may be.
Employees will have access to these insights and then be able to actively, and more effectively decide on what would be the best course of action.
In addition to the real-time nature of the support, Standard Life will be able to provide this personalisation across mobile devices, online, and live from the contact centre.
Harriet Green, GM, Watson IoT, Commerce and Education, IBM said: "Customers need to know that businesses not only see their unique needs and priorities but are able to adapt to each one, giving confidence they are making the right choices."
The idea of personalising services for customers serves the purpose of not only helping to increase customer loyalty, but also hopefully helping to increase the amount of business they do with their chosen service provider.
Standard Life say that the use of IBMs technology has helped to create an uplift in inbound offers by 8%.
IBM’s deals in the FS space aren’t restricted to work with Standard Life as the company is also collaborating with ING Direct Australia.
The work with ING Direct sees the bank aiming to deliver more personalised banking services to online and mobile customers as it looks to better engage with younger digital savvy customers.
For IBM the deals signify an important step into the financial services market for its analytics tools. Although there are no exact details on which analytics tools are being used, the deal highlights an increasingly proactive response from FS organisations to meeting customer demands and fending off competition from fintechs.
IBM’s work being done with Standard Life shouldn’t be underestimated. The investment company has around 4.5 million customers across 46 countries and it actively manages over £253bn in investments worldwide.
