Wesley Diphoko

There’s something broken about the current state of automation. From automated calls to bots that are limited by answers that are fed in advance, consumers are often left hanging without getting the assistance they need. This is probably worse for consumers who are served by institutions that only exist online. This begs the question, are we ready to do without buildings and physical spaces in the pursuit of digital-only businesses?

No one can deny that access to banks via apps has added more time for busy professionals and improved productivity for some. Many who are unable to move around have better access to services, thanks to online access. Businesses on the other hand have managed to save by avoiding rental costs and other overhead costs that are related to physical spaces. Some have used their savings to improve the technology infrastructure that enables digital access.

Sadly, some businesses have not invested enough in their digital infrastructure. One report indicated that Discovery Bank spent R15 billion to build the digital-only bank. There’s probably very few businesses that have spent so much money developing a digital-only solution. Although not perfect, the Discovery Bank digital experience is smooth. The same cannot be said about other institutions that are trying to appear to be innovative by moving away from physical to virtual-only business.

This excludes businesses that thrive as digital businesses. The challenge is with businesses that were traditionally physical in nature and now transitioning towards becoming digital-only businesses. Some businesses, in the interest of savings derived from cutting physical building costs, have moved too fast to digital and virtual-only services. Many of their clients have suffered from badly designed online systems. Users of their services have been frustrated by half-baked answers and unanswered questions.

Bad online services have left a bad impression on some - as a result, they have tried to return to being served via physical spaces. What is even worse is that institutions that are trying to go digital have reduced their physical presence and support structures, which has also been frustrating for consumers.

What can be done to remedy the downward spiral of services due to the transition towards digital services? One way of addressing this is a commitment to digital through significant technology infrastructure investments. A business cannot take shortcuts in this regard. Such an approach often leads to bad customer service, which creates a bad impression for digital services.

Another possible solution to this challenge is an approach that includes offering physical access as a premium service and online as a free service. At some point, digital-only access will be smooth as artificial intelligence (AI) advances. As a consumer, you will receive a personal service that feels like a concierge experience at a five-star hotel.

For now, very few institutions have invested enough to provide a quality experience that requires less human intervention. Human intervention is required to provide support where online service is failing. Smart institutions will understand that as more online services are adopted, services that include human interaction will be far better than online services. For some services, online-only will be great, but for a special service, we will always need human beings.