Best Features of a Digital Queue Management System for Banks

Banks offer crucial financial services for individuals and businesses which are essential for our modern societies. If you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or anywhere else in UAE, you must have visited a bank either for account opening or for business purposes. If you recall your last interaction with a bank, how was your experience at the branch? I am sure it was not as pleasing as it should be. The biggest problems at banks is the large customer influx, a customer might have to wait for 30 to 45 minutes for a service which can be delivered in 5 minutes. Obviously your appointment at bank is not something which you should expect to be enjoyable or entertaining but at least it should be comfortable, convenient and friction-less. This means that there are still some flaws and problems with the banking sector which are impacting customer experience. The average wait time for a typical bank service is around 20 minutes or in some cases even more than that, which cause stress and frustration. A digital queue management system solve all those problems and it also helps improving customer experience.

Best Features of a Digital Queue Management System for Banks
Best Features of a Digital Queue Management System for Banks

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a combination of tools and strategy to improve customer flow and maximize the performance of the customer service centers. The early form of queue management systems was first-come-first-serve based waiting line. Then businesses started sorting them in multiple waiting lines. Later on technology is introduced to the queuing systems. The digital queue management system is the latest form of customer flow management systems. A digital queue management system also consists of some digital tools (software and hardware) and a queuing strategy which help banks to significantly improve the customer experience, maximize their branch productivity and profitability and it also help improving staff performance. A digital queue management system also help businesses meet the ever-increasing customer expectations and it also collects valuable business intelligence data which is very helpful for businesses.

What is a Digital Queue Management System?
What is a Digital Queue Management System?

Here are the key features of a digital queue management system for a bank:

Digital Queue Management System: Reduction in Customer Wait Time

Customer wait time is one of the major cause of customer dissatisfaction. A digital queue management system is a very capable tool which can greatly reduce customer wait time and it also help improving customers’ waiting experience. Customers can sign-in using multiple methods which makes it very easy and convenience. Once customers are singed-in they are issued a ticket number which is their position in the queue. The customers are allowed to wait freely either in the waiting areas or even outside of the bank premises. The queue management system can also communicate with customers using SMS or WhatsApp or any other channel. It sends them live queuing information, alerts and notifications which prevent customers from missing out their turn in the queue. Furthermore the digital queue management system also have a digital signage screen, usually more than one screens are placed on strategic locations to ensure every customers can easily view information on these screens. Along with queuing information, multimedia content can also be played which help diverting customer’s focus form waiting time. The frequent audio announcements also keep customer engaged and reduce the stress of waiting.

Digital Queue Management System: Reduction in Customer Wait Time
Digital Queue Management System: Reduction in Customer Wait Time

Digital Queue Management System: Customer Journey Transformation

A digital queue management system has an AI (artificial intelligence) based very powerful software engine which make it more effective and efficient. A digital queue management system is a customer journey transformation tool. It can enhance customer’s entire visit even from pre-arrival to post-service activities, a digital queue management system effectively improves the entire customer journey. Furthermore a digital queue management system is capable of collecting customer behavioral, statistical and performance data which enables it to take instant decisions on the bases of real-time queuing situation. A typical bank have multiple services which they are offering at their branches, some service counters are exclusive for certain services some are for general services and furthermore there are also customer classifications and priority levels that the bank has to accommodate. It means that the bank has a very complex queuing strategy. A digital queue management system not only help banks implement their strategy but it also improving it. It can automatically route customers to the right service counter and as per their priority level or any other parameter that is applicable it manages the entire customer journey and ensure maximum efficiency, smooth customer flow and less wait time.

Digital Queue Management System: Customer Journey Transformation
Digital Queue Management System: Customer Journey Transformation

Digital Queue Management System: Boost Branch Efficiency

A digital queue management system is not just designed to reduce the customer wait time. It is a very powerful tool which can help improving several processes and have huge impact on the overall efficiency and performance of the entire bank branch. The digital queue management system automates several processes and customer journey steps. For example, the customer sing-in is completely automated, customers can utilize the interactive kiosk to sign-in and get the token number or they can utilize any supported virtual channel to sign-in and get a digital token or e-ticket. Furthermore everyone is served only at their turn, there is no chance of staff giving importance to any customer, this not only help improving the customer flow but it also help gaining customer trust. Furthermore there are no disputes, line jumping or any such problem that is associated with manual queuing. This means that the customer flow is entirely managed by the queue management system and the staff doesn’t have to involve at any stage. This not only speed up everything but it also help reducing the employees’ workload. When the staff works under balanced workload they tend to perform well and deliver high-quality service which improve branch performance. The employee have more time to focus on their primary tasks and they don’t have to worry about queuing problems which save a lot of time and also help reducing the service delivery time and resultantly customer wait time. All these improvements help boosting branch efficiency, employee performance, reduce human resource cost and ensure satisfactory service delivery.

Digital Queue Management System: Boost Branch Efficiency
Digital Queue Management System: Boost Branch Efficiency

Digital Queue Management System: Collects Business Intelligence Data

A digital queue management system is capable of collecting highly valuable business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point throughout the customer journey. Since the entire customer interaction digitally managed, collecting statistical data is much easier. For example, the queue management system can provide comprehensive insight to the customer flow such as which services most customer are choosing, what is average customer wait time, what is average service time and which employee is performing better and at which stage the customers are waiting longer than expected, etc. A digital queue management system is also capable of collecting customers’ behavioral data and compile it in form of easy-to-understand reports which help management understand customer behavior trend, performance trends, footfall trends and many more useful insights. A digital queue management system can collects a wealth of business intelligence data which can be very useful in decision making processes and help management evaluate their queuing strategy, customer journey and various other processes that can directly impact the customer experience. Furthermore a digital queue management system can also facilitate customer feedback collection and help banks collecting valuable customer feedback.

Digital Queue Management System: Collects Business Intelligence Data
Digital Queue Management System: Collects Business Intelligence Data

Conclusion

Banks offer most important financial services which are integral for our society and businesses to work. Whether you visit a bank in individual capacity or for your business, visit to a bank is inevitable. Banks also know that very well, hence they are always investing in innovative solutions and technologies to ensure their customers and visitors have an excellent customer experience. The overall UAE market in general is very dynamic, vibrant and versatile, for customers there are so many options to choose from. This is what makes customer satisfaction crucial for banks. If a bank wants to obtain customer loyalty then they must have to level up their game at customer experience and customer service. A digital queue management system is a perfect companion for banks who want to improve their customer experience. It help banks automate several customer journey processes and improve employees’ performance without compromising the customer satisfaction. In fact queue management systems are known for delivering highest customer satisfaction in all customer-facing environments. In this blog we discussed what a queue management system is and what features it offer which can help banks achieve maximum productivity, performance and customer satisfaction. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to transform your bank branch with our customized queue management system solution, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

5 Challenges and Solutions of Queue Management System in Banks

As technology advances it is impacting people’s lifestyle and the banking sector as well. Time is very crucial in modern societies such as Dubai, UAE. No matter how people are managing their bank accounts and investments, one thing everyone agrees on is that the time is very crucial for success. The banking sector is always very flexible in adopting new technologies and trends. The banking sector has huge potential, so the vendors and manufacturers always invest more in research and development for the banking sector. This also led to advance technological solutions and high-tech products and services.

Queue-Management-System-in-Banks

 

The banking sector is investing heavily in communicating with its customers and the market. This is because, especially in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or other emirates of UAE and in fact the entire GCC, there are so many banks sharing a common market. Which results in a very competitive environment, the customer happiness and customer satisfaction have become the top priority for the banking sector and the customers do care a lot about their time. Here the saying “time is money” fits very well. Everyone wants to get everything done very quickly and no one likes to spend time in long waiting lines at eh branches. All other sectors of the market are in a race to improve the customer experience and journey, which also raise the customer’s expectations.

Here are the 5 major challenges in utilizing a queue management system in the banks and their solutions:

1. Crowded Waiting Areas

Crowded-Waiting-Areas

Crowded waiting areas are haunting each and every sector of the industry, but it can easily be avoided by implementing an efficient digital queue management system. When a crowd is gathered, it results in unrest, which could annoy your customers. The customers and visitors waiting in a crowd most often think about how much more time do they have to wait, upon getting no answer or unsatisfactory answer, they could easily get annoyed. This could result in customers switching to a different bank. This also causes a negative impression among the people and people always rate their experience with a particular business when talking to friends and family. So, this could also impact your reputation in the market.

How to Avoid Crowded Waiting Areas?

The queue management systems (QMS) or queuing systems also known as customer flow management systems can solve this problem very well. By main-streaming your visitor’s and customer’s flow, you can easily avoid the crowed formation in your waiting areas and lobbies. A managed customer flow also prevents the unorganized crowd in the branch. This also helps to improve the efficiency of the branch staff.

2. Customer’s Experience

Customer’s-Experience

The customer’s experience is considered to be the backbone of the service-based industry, especially if you are operating in a very competitive market such as Dubai, UAE. Where the living standards, lifestyle and expectations of the customers are way too higher than in any other part of the world. You must have to be the best in order to compete in the market. There are so many banks in the country, the financial sector is doing great, the people living here want to invest, and sometimes some people have bank accounts in multiple banks, which makes the switching process from one bank to another even easier. So, the bank should have to be highly proactive in improving the customer experience.

How to Improve Customer Experience with a Queue Management System?

The queue management system allows the management to effectively handle customer and visitor flow in the branch. This not only reduces the wait time but it also helps improving customer happiness. The queue management system can further enhance the customer experience by providing regular updates and information in the waiting area. Usually, large screens or digital signage are connected with the queue management system which displays the ticketing information along with the multimedia content. The multimedia content on the screens could help the customers to ease the waiting time. Furthermore, the queuing system can have multi-language compatibility which also enhances customer experience.

3. Wait Time

Wait-Time

Wait time is a very important factor in a customer’s experience. If your customers and visitors will have to wait long on regular bases whenever they are visiting your branch, eventually a point will come when they will start thinking to switch to another bank. Another very common mistake that banks usually make is to not showing the estimated time remaining for the turn. Think from a customer or visitors perspective, if you have no finite limit on the wait time, you will immediately start feeling the stress, it is human nature, the scientific studies suggest that if a customer or visitor waiting in the queue knows the estimated time to their turn, it will reduce their stress level to 30% to 50%. Which is a very huge number. This could help the banks a lot in improving their customer’s experience.

How to Reduce Wait Time?

The queue management systems are a very advance piece of technology. We can integrate a lot many other tools, systems, and accessories to further improve their efficiency. Especially in Dubai, UAE, where most people are having busy schedules, so no one likes to wait in the long queues. First thing, the queue management system should be able to automatically estimate the expected time remaining in the turn and print it on the ticket itself or keep showing it in the digital signage screens. This will ease the stress of the customers/visitors. Second thing is to allow the customers a way to remotely sign-up for the queue. This can be achieved with smartphone applications, QR codes, SMS, calls, and many other tools. The best approach is smartphone applications for both Android and Apple iOS. The smartphone apps, not only allow the users to sign-up remotely but are also capable of providing real-time updates on the customer flow and on-going queues. Push notifications and SMS makes it a lot easier to reduce the in-branch wait time of the customers/visitors.

4. Customer Journey

Customer-Journey

Customer journey is the key to success in the banking sector, and also in so many other service-based industries. The customer journey starts from having a need to avail a service and finishes at the service delivery to the customer. It is very important that banks design their customer journey carefully, so at the end of the journey, the customer leaves the branch happily. There are a lot many things that need to be taking into account, for example, how the customer will sign-up for the service, which will be signing-up for the queue, then comes the customer flow management, then the servers and the agents, and how convenient or how hard service is to get delivered to the customer could make or break your business. These things collectively form a customer journey.

How to Improve Customer Journey?

The customer journey can be improved by simply reducing the duration. Everything else comes in between. You should allow multiple sign-up methods, including remote-sign-up for the queue. This will significantly reduce the wait time. In the branch, the customer flow should be managed effectively. The waiting area should also provide some recreational activity, the best approach is to provide multimedia content on the queue management system’s digital signage and large screens. Include audio announcements in multiple languages which all of your customers can easily understand. In Dubai, UAE, Arabic, English and Urdu/Hindi will suffice. Your queue management system should be able to automatically route the customers to the less busy counters.

The queue management system should also be able to implement your branch policies, such as in banks, usually, multiple counters are used for multiple services. For example, 5 counters are used for a very popular service, and 2 for a less popular service. Let say your 5 counters are very busy and the other 2 are empty, then the queue management should route the customers to the other 2 counters as well to accommodate more customers in the busy hours. But during that the queue management system should be able to prioritize the customers for these 2 counters to be served on priority bases on these two counters. By introducing business counters, VIP counters and Priority Customers Counters, the bank can further enhance the customer journey.

5. Business Intelligence

Business-Intelligence

How business intelligence could help the banks to further optimize their customer journey and provide a satisfactory experience at the branch? Well, apparently this might not relate to the queue management systems as the banks have other tools and methods to gather business intelligence. But you might not know how effective and powerful a queue management system could be in gathering statistical usage data and business intelligence. The business intelligence will help you understand the effectiveness of your current policies and it will also help you measure customer happiness.

How to Collect Business Intelligence from a Queue Management System?

Queue Management Systems comes with a software tool, which automatically collects all the system usage stats and other valuable information such as how many customers have visited at any given point of time, the peak hours, the busiest day of the week/month, and a variety of KPIs or key performance indicators help the management to understand the customer experiences and customer journey. The queue management systems are also capable of measuring the performance of the agents and servers. You can easily extract detailed and corporate reports. Which could be a great help in taking strategic decisions for the future.

The advance queue management systems also provide the facility to integrate them with other tools, such as your CRM or your ERP, this is also a great feature to connect to the central information centre of your bank. Furthermore, feedback collecting tools such as happiness meters and surveys can also be added to the queue management system. You can utilize the queue management system’s mobile apps to conduct detailed surveys. Small tablet stands, or kiosks can be used to integrate happiness meter inside the branch which is also a great feature to collect the customer feedback. These features will provide very valuable business insight. Banks can use such data to further improve their products/services and customer journey to achieve maximum customer happiness.

Conclusion

These days, each and every bank has some sort of modern queuing solution implemented on each branch. All traditional customer flow management methods are obsolete now. The competition in the market is growing day by day. The innovation and technological advancements in other service-based industries in Dubai, UAE are also setting up new trends. The expectations of a customer from a bank are raising day by day, the customers and visitors expect from a bank to utilize the top-notch technology to facilitate them. This is why banks are continuously improving their service delivery methods and policies to attain maximum customer happiness.

A queue management system can help to solve many problems in the banks. Which will ultimately lead to improving the customer journey and customer experience. Customer happiness is the backbone of a business in any service-based industry. The queue management system can help banks to facilitate their customers and also provide a great business insight which helps the management in taking vital strategy-making decisions. The queue management systems can easily automate a lot many processes which will also reduce the stress from the serving staff and agents, which results in improved service delivery and less wait time at the branch.

It is always good to consult with a professional queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE such as RSI Concepts. We have served a lot many banks and government sector in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and the other Emirates of UAE. We can provide you with great advice and an excellent queue management solution to meet your specific needs. Feel free to approach us through our Contact Us page.

Check this out: 5 Tricks to Quickly Serve Customers Using Queuing System