• Customer interaction technology company Glia launched its Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator this week.
• The new offering is based on the company’s Unified Interactions Index, and enables financial services companies to benchmark the quality of their customer interactions against that of their peers.
• A multiple-time Finovate Best of Show winner, Glia most recently demoed its technology at Finovate’s all-digital conference in 2021.

Leave it to customer interaction technology innovator Glia to take the idea of “Knowing Your Customer” to another level.

This week, Glia unveiled its Unified Interactions Index Online Calculator. Based on the company’s Unified Interactions Index, the new tool enables financial services companies to benchmark themselves against more than 500 peer companies in terms of the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall experience in customer interactions.

“Customer interactions are the new litmus test for loyalty, but until now financial institutions haven’t had an accessible way to compare their interaction strategy with peers and relate it to tangible KPIs,” Glia Co-Founder and CEO Dan Michaeli said.

Glia’s calculator gives financial institutions apples-to-apples benchmarking data on how they compare against peers and competitors. From the answers to 14 questions, the calculator provides a score that categorizes respondents into one of three areas –front runner, pacer, or straggler — based on the efficiency, effectiveness, and experience of their customer interaction strategy. With this information, Glia provides customer recommendations to help the institution improve its interaction strategy, and improve business results based on their own unique circumstances.

“Our calculator offers a quick, simple way to evaluate where an institution stands and then provides actionable steps on easy areas of improvement,” Michaeli added. “This ultimately helps deliver the information and tools necessary to modernize and enhance customer interactions and drive successful business outcomes.”

Headquartered in New York, Glia made its Finovate debut (as SaleMove) at FinovateFall in 2015, earning its first of several Best of Show awards. Most recently, the company demoed its technology before Finovate audiences at our all-digital conference in the spring of 2021. Today, Glia has partnered with more than 500 banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and other financial institutions around the world to help them improve the customer experience, boost loyalty, and drive revenues. The Glia Interaction Platform unifies voice, digital customer service, and AI in an architecture that eliminates data siloes and enables companies to shift traffic between channels, enabling customer interactions to evolve naturally.

The launch of Glia’s new offering follows the introduction of the company’s ChannelLess AI-powered Interactions for Financial Services experience. This platform, in the words of Glia Chief Product Officer Jay Choi, combines a best-in-class virtual assistant, back-end AI tools, and a data analysis solution for managers to help them “find new ways to drive efficiency, performance, and increase the value delivered by the contact center.”

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Multiple-time Finovate Best of Show winner Glia and Conversational AI specialist Posh Technologies have teamed up to bring new customer engagement options to TwinStar Credit Union.

“The financial institutions that provide customers and members with a strategic blend of human touch and AI will have high retention and acquisition rates,” Glia co-founder and CEO Dan Michaeli said. “By partnering with Glia and Posh, TwinStar offers members a seamless support network where no duplication is required. It’s a faster, better member experience that alleviates the frustrations associated with typical support lines. Easy communication with financial support is a cornerstone to service and long-lasting relationships.” 

Courtesy of this partnership, TwinStar CU will offer a seamless digital chat experience available directly from its website and mobile app that features both automated and live member support. The automated chatbot solution will be able to respond to basic queries regarding branch hours, ATM locations, routing numbers, and similar information. More complex inquiries will be transferred to human contact center agents via Glia’s live chat feature, creating a more efficient experience for both members and support teams.

Member service will not be limited to live chat, either. Once live agents are engaged, members will be able choose the communication channel of their choice – messaging, video banking, or voice – as well as toggle between communication options and take advantage of support tools like co-browsing. The result is “faster and better service to our members in a multitude of ways” according to Scott Daukas, TwinStar Chief Strategy Officer. “We are thrilled to offer this great service to our members,” he said.

Headquartered in Washington State, TwinStar CU serves more than 135,000 members in Washington and Oregon, and manages $1.8 billion in assets. The institution traces its origins back to 1937, when teachers at Olympia High School who were struggling to secure loans on their meager salaries joined together to form the Thurston County Teacher Credit Union. The institution’s first branch, a classroom at the high school made available four days a week, was opened in 1950. The credit union became TwinStar in 2006.

Boston, Massachusetts-based Posh Technologies was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2018. The company specializes in creating intelligent chatbots and interactive voice response (“conversational IVR”) phonebots and includes financial institutions like the State Department FCU and Finovate alum Mr. Cooper among its customers. Posh has picked up non-equity backing from MassChallenge and FinTech Sandbox.

Most recently winning Best of Show honors at FinovateSpring last month, Glia announced a partnership with credit union service organization, Members Access Processing (MAP) in May, as well. In March, the company announced a collaboration with AI-powered virtual assistant solution provider Abe.ai. With more than 200 banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and other financial institutions as its partners, Glia began the year with news that BCU, a $4.2 billion credit union based in Illinois, had selected its Digital Member Service platform to better engage its 294,000 members.

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A collaboration between digital customer service innovator Glia and credit union membership service organization (CUSO) Members Access Processing (MAP) will help credit unions better serve their members via their channel of choice – whether it is messaging, video banking, voice, cobrowsing, or a combination of options.

“Consumers expect every business they interact with to deliver quick, seamless service and support, and their credit unions are no exception,” Glia co-founder and CEO Dan Michaeli explained. “By partnering with us and making Digital Member Service a critical part of their digital transformation, MAP will be able to help its financial institution clients boost member satisfaction and loyalty while strengthening their overall competitive positions.”

Glia combines on-screen collaboration and AII-enabled customer assistance to offer a Digital Customer Service solution that enriches web and mobile experiences and improves engagement. The company’s platform not only meets customers on their channel of choice; the solution enables the service representative and customer to transition seamlessly between chat, audio, video, messaging, and phone as needed during the course of the query to ensure that the customer’s needs are met.

“As digital usage continues to rise, it’s a strategic imperative for credit unions to be able to form strong member relationships from within digital channels,” MAP president and CEO Cyndie Martini said. “Glia’s platform allows for credit unions to engage members from where they are in their journey, eliminating the need for disjointed, clunky phone experiences. This ultimately drives efficiencies for the credit union while creating a more cohesive, enjoyable experience for members.”

Most recently demonstrating its Best of Show-winning technology at FinovateSpring earlier this month, Glia has teamed up with more than 150 banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and other financial institutions since its inception in 2012. This year, in addition to its collaboration with MAP, Glia has teamed up with Abe.ai, an AI-powered virtual assistance solution provider from fellow Finovate alum Envestnet | Yodlee, and partnered with low code digital automation platform provider Newgen Software. Glia began the year with an announcement that Illinois-based BCU, a 294,000+ member credit union with $4.2 billion in assets, has selected its platform to enhance digital engagement with its members.

“Member service has always been one of our primary differentiators, and we recognized the need to evolve our approach to keep up with changing member preferences by extending our exceptional service into digital channels,” BCU SVP of digital strategy and delivery Carey Price said. “With Glia’s platform, we will be able to provide a more modern, convenient experience for members that still allows us to form meaningful relationships digitally. We believe this will be a major competitive advantage moving forward.”

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