Just a few days ago, one of the biggest names in the meme stock trading space returned online, and made a tweet that garnered over 100k likes and 20m views on the post. His return led to a pump in liquidity injection into the stocks market, some of which even spread onto the crypto market. The result? Meme stocks like $GME, which had been presumed dead for a while, spiked in price, and remained bullish over the next 24 hours. As a result of this unexpected surge, some stock exchanges temporarily halted trading of $GME. Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood, one of the few exchanges that was able to remain operational and handle the traffic [which led to them hitting $5B in equities trading volume in one day, one of their biggest days in the past 12 months, according to their CEO] announced that a system upgrade to allow the exchange be able to handle even higher loads was needed and in view.
This incident highlights the critical importance of platform resilience and the readiness of customer support, particularly in the fast-paced FinTech industry. In this article, we will consider these aspects and explore their impacts.
Operational stability is the consistent and predictable performance of an organisation's processes, systems, and resources, ensuring that daily operations run smoothly without significant disruptions. Especially in times of high traffic/requests, this stability is crucial for building a positive and reputable identity as a reliable brand, affecting several key areas of the organisation.
The primary benefit of maintaining reliable platforms and services is the advantage of customer trust and loyalty. Especially in the FinTech industry, customers and clients always expect reliable service or product delivery, highlighting the need for operational stability to ensure that their expectations are consistently satisfied. And when a company becomes known for their timely delivery of high-quality products and services, they will earn a positive reputation, leading to repeat business and better customer advocacy. Such standards often protect businesses from disruptions that cause significant financial and reputational damage, mitigating the risks associated with customer dissatisfaction and displeasure.
In competitive markets, operational stability can be a key differentiator. Companies that maintain consistent operations are better positioned to innovate, scale, and adapt to market changes. This reliability is what sets fintech companies apart, separating those who may struggle with operational issues. The impact of this progressive working environment also affects employee morale and productivity, as employees are more productive and satisfied in a stable environment. Operational stability reduces the stress and uncertainty associated with frequent disruptions, allowing employees to focus on their tasks and contribute effectively to the organisation's success. High morale and productivity enhance the overall performance and reputation of the organisation.
Regulatory compliance and financial performance also benefit from the tenets of operational stability and platform resilience. Especially in an industry subject to strict regulatory requirements, operational stability helps ensure compliance with these regulations by maintaining consistent processes and thorough documentation. This compliance avoids legal penalties and builds a reputation for integrity and reliability. Same performance standards further contribute to predictable financial performance, crucial for investors and stakeholders. Organisations who demonstrate this operational stability are often viewed as lower-risk investments, attracting more capital and enabling further growth and development.
Summarily, we can all see why operational stability is fundamental to building and maintaining a strong reputation for reliability. Its impact on customer satisfaction, risk management, competitive positioning, employee well-being, regulatory compliance, and financial health makes it a necessity to prioritise operational stability when vying for long-term success and resilience.
Public research analysis shows that maintaining operational reliability improves user retention by >65%. For businesses, understanding how to achieve and maintain such optimal performance will be “serious business”, as it can also determine the outcome of their financial year by up to 50%. These factors make it a thing of interest for management teams to research, identify, and fine-tune performance practices that can maintain their reputational performance without drawbacks and letdowns. Let us look at some practical operational tips that can help maintain optimal performance through high traffic periods that upholds the reliability goal.
1. Implement Load Balancing and Scalability Tools:
Load balancing and scalability practices help build consistent runtime to prevent network overload. Selecting an appropriate load balancing strategy (eg: Round Robin, Least Connections, etc) and building load balancers using hardware, software, or cloud services enables platforms to handle millions of requests per second. For scalability, employing horizontal scaling (by adding more servers or using auto-scaling features in cloud environments) to adjust resources based on traffic can reduce operational costs by 50% during traffic periods. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can also be used to reduce latency and server load by up to 60%, storing session information in distributed caches or databases to enable servers to handle more requests.
2. Optimise Your Support Tools and Systems:
Regular updates, maintenance, and automation are the cornerstones of a smooth-running system. Updates, like patching vulnerabilities in software, can prevent up to 70% of all security breaches. It also introduces improvements that enhance functionality and security. Maintenance, on the other hand, proactively identifies and resolves potential issues before they arrive. A study by Aberdeen Group found that companies with a strong preventive maintenance strategy experience 30% less downtime. And with the assistance of automation, human agents can dedicate 60% more time to complex problems that require empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
3. Prioritise and Triage Support Requests:
Triage systems prioritise tickets based on urgency and impact, creating a smoother ticketing process. By defining urgency (critical, high, etc.) and impact (severe, major, etc.) levels, agents can categorise tickets within a matrix. This prioritises critical issues (e.g., outages) which can reduce downtime by 30% [source needed]. Standardised responses for each level ensure efficient resolution, boosting customer satisfaction by 20%, keeping things running smoothly, and customers happy.
4. Enhance Agent Training and Readiness:
Thriving customer service during high volumes requires a well-trained and well-resourced support team. Regular training sessions equip agents with in-depth product knowledge leading to 30% faster issue resolution, effective communication skills, and problem-solving techniques. To complement this training, comprehensive reference guides and well-curated FAQ sections can deflect up to 70% of basic inquiries, saving agents time and repeated query demands. Such facilities empower agents to find answers swiftly, ensuring faster resolution times, improved customer satisfaction,and a more efficient operation.
5. Monitor Performance in Real-Time:
Real-time monitoring empowers customer service teams to excel. By keeping a constant eye on interactions, issues can be addressed just as they arise, boosting first contact resolution rates. Studies show a 48% increase with real-time data, highlighting the need to track key metrics and spot trends in real-time. Such proactive movement helps to prevent drastic experiences, ensuring operational continuity is in place.
Customer service (CS) agents play a critical role, though sometimes unseen, in maintaining platform reliability and user experience.They act as the bridge between the technical aspects of the platform and the user community, ensuring a smooth and functional experience for everyone. Here, let us look at some of their key contributions that affect proceedings.
CS agents are on the front lines, directly interacting with users who encounter problems. They act as valuable sources of information, pinpointing bugs, glitches, and areas where the platform might be failing to meet user needs. By logging and analysing these reports, CS agents contribute significantly to identifying areas for improvement and platform updates.
A well-trained CS agent can be a powerful user education tool. By providing clear explanations, troubleshooting steps, and product knowledge, they empower users to navigate the platform effectively. This not only reduces the number of support tickets but also fosters a sense of user confidence and platform mastery.
Every interaction with a CS agent is a valuable data point. Agents can gather user feedback on features, usability, and overall satisfaction. This data is crucial for informing platform development and ensuring the platform evolves to meet user needs. Studies show that businesses that actively solicit and implement user feedback experience a 60% increase in customer satisfaction.
CS agents are often the first to detect emerging trends in user behaviour or dissatisfaction.A sudden spike in support tickets related to a specific feature, for instance, can act as an early warning sign of a potential platform issue. By relaying this information promptly, CS agents can help mitigate problems before they deteriorate.
Summarily, maintaining platform performance reliability, particularly for FinTech service providers, is paramount as it fosters a positive user experience by minimising bugs and glitches, while also empowering CS agents to effectively assist users. This translates to fewer support tickets, increased user confidence, and valuable data collection to guide platform development. Ultimately, reliable platforms keep users happy and businesses thriving. And by implementing these practical operational tips, even remote customer support teams can maintain optimal performance and uphold platform reliability during high traffic periods, ensuring customer satisfaction remains high and that the organisation operates efficiently under pressure.
