New Delhi: At a time when most people are preferring to stay at home, State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank, is enabling people to seamlessly bank from home with ease. As part of their on-going #GharSeBanking campaign, which was launched during the lockdown, SBI has been using social media and digital mediums to encourage people to download the SBI YONO App. One of the most effective ways in which SBI has driven downloads and adoption for YONO, YONO Lite, SBI Quick, BHIM SBI Pay, and Online SBI is by leveraging conversational AI and conversational marketing via Facebook Messenger.
YONO (You Only Need One) is SBI’s one-stop shop for all banking and lifestyle needs. It is an integrated digital banking platform offered by SBI across Android, iOS and web to enable users to access banking, a variety of other financial services and other features like travel bookings, online shopping and purchase of groceries, medicines etc.
Given the pace at which the pandemic is spreading, resulting in extended lockdowns, SBI needed to swiftly urge people to download the YONO and other Apps to lead the sphere of digital banking. Since a large majority of their customers preferred to visit the bank branch to meet their banking requirements, SBI wanted to ensure that they could provide a similar personalized and conversation-led experience to their customers who were not used to doing digital transactions. That’s where conversational marketing proves to be very effective.
Conversational marketing powered by AI is the fastest way to move people through the marketing funnel as it leverages the power of real-time conversations yet delivers the message in a personalized manner. SBI’s conversational flow via Facebook Messenger gave people the option to download the YONO and other Apps, find out more about the app features, and explore other SBI apps with just a few clicks.
Ravindra Pandey, Deputy Managing Director (Strategy) and Chief Digital Officer said, “Our customers share a close bond with us. They like to interact with us at the branches and this conversation plays an integral role in their overall banking experience. When COVID-19 disrupted their visits to our branches though we continued to remain open, we were very keen on ensuring that we create a similar conversational experience for our customers. The conversational marketing campaign was delivered through Click-to-Messenger ads, and helped to provide an instant and personal experience. More than half-a-million people have so far started conversations on Facebook Messenger as a part of the #GharSeBanking campaign resulting in a strong response to YONO and other app downloads.”
Gaurav Khurana, Vertical Head for Financial Services at Facebook India said, “A Facebook-Boston Consulting Group research study has revealed that consumers are “bringing the outside inside” and thereby embracing digital services and experiences very rapidly since the pandemic began. SBI swiftly built for the emerging consumer trends by building a conversational experience to help consumers get access to banking. They were thus able to provide an uninterrupted banking service through the YONO App to the millions of Indians who rely on them for their daily banking needs. In times of physical distancing, it’s essential to stay in touch with the customer, consequently, conversational marketing digital solutions such as Facebook Messenger can prove to be very effective right now.”
Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect said, “The pandemic has caused a behavioural change in the way customers bank. Messaging and communication apps have also seen a huge spike in usage as consumers use these apps to connect with businesses besides family and friends. SBI leveraged this opportunity on Facebook Messenger by reaching out to their consumers to create a direct and one-to-one communication and help them with their banking needs. This unique approach of leveraging conversational AI within FB Messenger is a paradigm shift in scaling digital transformation at a large BFSI player such as State Bank Of India, thus helping it seamlessly enter the homes and lives of its consumers. Truly #GharSeBanking.”
