VoiceBot, Moneyfy - Tata Capital strengthens its digital arsenal to combat COVID-19 crisis

With several lockdown restrictions being lifted in the country today after a 40-day period, businesses are gearing up to gain lost grounds. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous upheavals in the global economy, the reverberations of which will be felt over the next several months. Business shutting down, job losses, salary cuts are some of the harsh market realities that businesses have to face.

In India, too, the 40-day lockdown (which has been further extended by two weeks till May 17, but with zone-based easing of several restrictions) has derailed the economy as manufacturing and production, as well as the whole supply chain function has come to a standstill. Writing in a report on ‘COVID-19: Impact on the financial services sector’, Charanjit S Attra, EY India Financial Services and Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) Partner, stated, “COVID-19 would impact the financial statements of the entities in the financial services in the areas of ECL, business model assessment, post balance sheet events and certain other key areas.”

Tata Capital, the flagship financial services company of the Tata Group, has been increasingly leveraging digital to reach out to customers and staying relevant. In conversation with Adgully, Abonty Banerjee, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, Tata Capital, on their approach and their roadmap to face these challenging times and still keep their customers happy and satisfied.

The COVID-19 crisis and nation-wide lockdown has caused severe disruption and has confined people to their homes. In such a scenario, how are you leveraging digital and technology to engage with customers?

These are unprecedented times for the country and we are part of this tough situation. We continue to stay connected with our customers through various digital channels and platforms to ensure that we are able to service their needs and deliver as per expectations. Most of our services are online, and we are creating more awareness around our digital offerings.

What is the strategy you are adopting to stay connected with your audience and what kind of message is being delivered?

Voice as a service offering:

Currently, over 30 per cent of our customers are serviced through Voice, through our VoiceBot TIA. Taking this astep further, we recently launched TIA on Alexa and we do expect to gain more traction through this medium as well. Currently, our customers are serviced through Tata Capital’s website, TIA, which is a chatbot and a VoiceBot and through Mobile Apps.

To connect with the digitally savvy customer, we recently launched Moneyfy, Tata Capital’s very first Wealth Management App, an easy and convenient way to invest in Mutual funds, select an insurance or even apply for a loan. The App is suited for even new-to-investment customers who can choose to start with an amount which is as low as Rs 100. We have created communication in the digital and social media space to enhance the reach of Moneyfy.

As a financial services brand, the customer connect will remain high even in this situation. So, there is no key shift in strategy except to remain empathetic to customer needs and ensure that our services are available to the extent possible. As far as media is concerned, most options other than outdoor remain available and consumption is naturally increased. We are largely using social and digital media at the moment. This is not a big departure from our regular strategy, where we use social and digital as medium for continuous engagement, and other media for larger campaigns.

How are you using your digital channels to spread awareness?

We have done campaigns around social distancing on our social handles as well as on email and SMS channels. Further, we have placed a robust communication strategy internally. Which means our employees who are also customers for various products, have accurate and real time information on the developments of the situation.

What kind of technology and support is Tata Capital using to stay connected with its employees, business partners and vendors?

The partners and customers were proactively communicated about posting their queries on digital channels, which were always functioning earlier too, but they would be helpful for those who are now not able to visit the branches. Productivity wise, the operations, technology are doing better. They are working as usual.

Tata Capital has exclusive digital offerings for different businesses. There are dedicated platforms, already operational for various businesses. For example, the online working capital platform which approves loans of up to Rs 2 crore in under 24 hours; a separate digital platform for MSMEs is also registering good numbers. Further, Data and Analytics continue to play an important role at Tata Capital and are used across the lending process including for creation of pre-approved offers and propensity models, marketing decisions, underwriting decisions and to enhance collection efficiencies.

Considering that Tata Capital’s IT infrastructure is cloud-based, activating the BCP plan was not so much of a challenge. Remote log-in functionalities were set and even for employees, access was provided. Currently, Work from Home is seamless and one is able to service customers, resolve customer queries or even adhere to regulatory processes.

What kind of a new normal do you see emerging in the post-COVID-19 world? How is the company gearing for that?

The current norms have accelerated consumption of digital media and use of digital platforms. We will continue to stay invested in these and build our brand and market the products online. Social media will continue to play a key role.