CHALLENGE

In a market that has been thoroughly disrupted by technology, it is critical that a financial services organization delivers an experience similar to what a customer is accustomed – incorporating the technologies customers are using. The ability for a customer to schedule an appointment at their convenience can mean the difference between a conversation and a lost customer.

A new SUMO customer in the FinServ space saw immediate value in what adding automated scheduling to their business would do for both their clients and staff.

This FinServ client offers full-service financial advice to its clients from non-commissioned fiduciary advisors so meetings are integral to their service.

The organization’s scheduling process for setting up client meetings relied heavily on phone and email. Every meeting request would route through the reception staff. Reception staff would review an advisor’s calendar and book the meeting as requested except when the requested time wasn’t available. In this case, another round of calls and emails had to be done to find a mutually agreeable time.

On top of the email and phone tag, Reception was also often having to re-book appointments requested by the client communicating directly with the advisor. This resulted is miscommunication and appointment overlap. After a period of time persisting with this manual scheduling process, SUMO was brought onboard.

What first drew the company to SUMO Scheduler was that it is a Salesforce-native application. The diversity of the solution’s out-of-the-box gave them even more confidence in their selection.

Over 10% of the company’s clients used self-scheduling within the first week after SUMO was activated.  Clients were able to schedule appointments when they had the time, which was usually when the office was closed.

Clients also now had the power and convenience of selecting their meeting type. Some of their clients do not always have the time for an in-office visit so SUMO was configured with a selection of meeting options: phone, video or in-office. They were able to further increase engagement with their current and prospective clients by sending a self-scheduling link specific to each advisor with all their appointment reminders.

Another effect of implementing SUMO was a dramatic decrease in their no-shows and cancellations. Their advisors attribute this improvement to the email confirmations which clients find clear and concise. Both advisors and their clients appreciate the simplicity of the process – the previous necessity for additional emails or phone calls for clarification and confirmations were completely eliminated.

This automation also had an effect on the firm’s C-SAT. Clients feel catered to as the advisor is giving them access to their personal calendar.  Internally, their reception staff is no longer spending all their time scheduling and rescheduling appointments. They can now spend time on more productive tasks.

SUMO turned a highly manual process of booking meetings, which was prone to human error, into a seamless system. SUMO now helps them connect and engage with their clients at their convenience.

The Numbers

• +10% of clients and partners using self-scheduling within the
• +15% of advisor appointments are self-scheduled.
• +25% of staff time saved a month with automated scheduling.