New solution makes it fast and easy for customers to self-schedule in-branch or phone meetings with retail banks
BOSTON & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- From Booth 831 at the BAI Retail Delivery 2012 conference, TimeTrade® (http://www.timetrade.com), the world leader in online appointment scheduling for business, today announced TimeTrade Banking by Appointment™, a new solution which revolutionizes the way in which banks interact and favorably engage with their customers. “Banking by Appointment” helps retail banks greatly improve customer experiences and revenue opportunities by empowering customers to instantly book in-branch or phone appointments through bank websites, email loyalty campaigns, and via social media interactions.
TimeTrade Banking by Appointment
Through its award-winning, proven solutions that make it easier for banks to meet with those they serve-- TimeTrade enables banks to create higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, while simultaneously driving customer value, reducing attrition and streamlining multi-channel delivery.
While they like the convenience of ATMs and online banking, customers consistently demand better ‘personal’ service from their banks. One-to-one appointments with customers (by phone or in-person) continue to give banks the greatest means to deliver personal service, build trust, and retain clients. TimeTrade Banking by Appointment ensures a favorable customer experience by eliminating the long-wait times that often endure when they try to connect through a phone call center or a drop-in visit to their bank branch.
TimeTrade “Banking by Appointment” lets customers interact and schedule in-branch or phone appointments for a meeting day and time that is convenient for them. When customers “click to schedule” via the bank’s website, through social media (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook), or in response to email loyalty campaigns, they are instantly matched and booked to meet with a banking professional best suited to meet their individual needs at the nearest branch or call center.
“Banks, credit unions and other retail financial services providers increasingly value the connection between strong customer experience and their bottom line,” said Gary Ambrosino, President of TimeTrade. “In meetings we’ve had with national, regional and community banks nationwide – bank executives tell us that banking by appointment has become an important enhancement requirement to building and retaining brand trust. We think that within a year, virtually all of the leading U.S. banks will have embraced and deployed online appointment scheduling.”
Ernst & Young’s recent Global Consumer Banking Survey 2011 describes an emerging “new era of customer expectation” in which technology to “deliver a more seamless and personalized experience will be a major competitive battleground in all retail banking markets.” Writing it is “more critical than ever that institutions maintain strong relationships with their customers,” the Survey describes an imperative for banks to “enhance the customer experience – by investing in branches, delivering personal attention across channels.” In order for them to prosper, Ernst & Young advises banks to deploy “new customer treatment strategies – using mobile, email and social media…. to drive appropriate cross sales and retention outcomes.”
Addressing the imperatives identified in the Survey, TimeTrade “Banking by Appointment” gives depositors and other clients a range of flexible scheduling options when it comes to setting a time to meet with a retail banking professional. Underpinning this solution is TimeTrade OneMobile™ – a technology unique to TimeTrade, which instantly recognizes which type of device a customer is using to interact with the bank and which renders a modern “touch” interface for self-service appointment scheduling. Through its true Web 3.0 capabilities, TimeTrade OneMobile provides a consistent, universal appointment scheduling experience that is personal and portable -- across all existing and future phone, tablet, PC and Mac devices, without requiring the user to install an app.
TimeTrade OneMobile includes geolocation functionality using the latest Google Maps data, which is increasingly critical to the retail banking industry. TimeTrade OneMobile™ automatically detects the user’s location and displays a list of the bank branches nearest to them through a familiar Google Maps display using the latest web technologies, while alleviating the need for apps to be installed on the user’s device.
The recent announcement of the Capgemini World Retail Banking Report 2012 also provides strong validation for both TimeTrade Banking by Appointment and TimeTrade OneMobile predicting “By 2015, more than 60 percent of customers worldwide will likely use mobile banking,” and stating “banks must differentiate by building innovative products, improving channel management and service, and enhancing their mobile offerings.”
For more on TimeTrade Banking by Appointment go to:
http://www.timetrade.com/solutions/retail-banking.
About TimeTrade
TimeTrade is the world's leading online appointment scheduling solution for business. To date over 80 million appointments have been booked for customers through TimeTrade in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Pacific Rim -- with 35 million of those appointments directly facilitating more than $2 billion of commerce per year. World-class companies who've deployed TimeTrade's online self-service appointment scheduling also see significant improvements in customer satisfaction and loyalty. The TimeTrade offers a line of proven online appointment scheduling solutions tailored for the varying needs of individuals, professionals, small businesses, workgroups, retailers, and large enterprises. For more information please visit http://www.timetrade.com.
All product names and references contained herein remain the service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. TimeTrade Banking by Appointment and TimeTrade OneMobile are trademarks of TimeTrade Systems, Inc.
TimeTrade
Patrick Rafter, 617-901-2697
prafter@timetrade.com
Source: TimeTrade