|
|
 |
“Customers are under-whelmed by the retail banking experience.” Loyalty
Quest, December 2005 |
|||
 |
||||
 |
 |
|||
 |
Since you are reading this after January 21 it is likely you have already broken your New Year’s resolution. We all start a new 12 months with commitment; eat less, exercise more. By midyear we can’t even remember most of what we promised. Life happens. The editorial staff of our newsletter has made some resolutions and these are based on suggestions from you. First, a new column debuts in February. “Ask the Coach” tackles challenging sales coaching situations that readers have written in about with a possible solution offered by one of our coaches. Issues will be shorter. It’s hard to find time to read 3,500 words so we’ll try to cut them in half and be less verbose. Finally, readers want more book reviews and we’ll try to do that in every edition too. Call 847-717-4328 for Your Sales Thought of the Week More than 30 people a week call that number and hang up. Some thoughts involve practical sales tips and others just make callers think. Lots of people ask if it’s OK to call and just listen to the quote. Please do. When bankers stop calling, we’ll be concerned. |
|||
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
|||
Julie Ruffolo – Promoted to Director of Retail Services Julie Ruffolo is a veteran banker and consultant with more than 20 years experience in financial services. What makes Julie special to us is that she is so special to our clients. People that see Julie in the classroom and in the coaching realm want her back again and again. With the great need to make certain that our client’s learning initiatives on the retail side are exceeded, we asked Julie if she would take on the responsibility of leading that effort. She readily agreed. Although SM&H has always helped retail bankers hold better conversations, there is tremendous opportunity for this group to improve. Her first task is to analyze where retail is today and some trends that bankers are and should be considering. She is in the midst of conducting interviews with some of the top retail sales banks at all asset levels. That information will result in a White Paper on Retail Banking that will be completed by mid year. Julie has a few initial ideas and they are presented in this edition of Conversation Signposts. You’ll notice a hyperlink at the end of this edition. It will guide you to a very brief survey about some issues in retail banking. We ask that you take a few minutes and share your bank’s current situation with us. We’ll share the results in March. |
||||
|
|
|||
|
By:
Julie Ruffolo As the banking industry continues to position itself for success in the second half of this decade, great energy is being placed on the retail side of the house. The vast amount of real estate banks have, personnel issues and technology solutions are all under intense scrutiny as margins continue to be squeezed. A recent study conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP in conjunction with Consumer Bankers Association indicates location/access as the primary reason customers select their bank. In addition, slightly more than 50% of respondents interact mainly with the branch in spite of the proliferation of numerous other delivery channels. In fact four out of five respondents visited a branch monthly. Two other interesting facts:
Best-of-breed banks focus on two key issues; the conversation and the customer experience. A clear, consistent definition of these two elements must be created, communicated, supported by senior executives and then aligned with technology, processes and reward systems. How each is integrated throughout the bank makes a huge difference in profitability, loyalty quotient and growth. A pleasant interaction with the Contact Center creates PMI (positive mental impression) with the bank. If the experience is less than satisfying, the customer may take their ball and bat and go to a competitor regardless of how convenient the branches are or how easy the website is to use. Retail Banking 2006 – Transactionally Relational Recent studies indicate up to 70% of retail customers do not want a relationship with their bank. That’s all well and good. Even if those numbers are true across the board, a full 30% are desirous of some level of guidance and those individuals may well be at the top end of the financial food chain. Many bankers view retail banking as a short cycle sale “I wanna buy a…” Consumer selling cycles are indeed shorter but they aren’t necessarily one and done. Significant Life Events (SLEs) make long term customer development on the retail side every bit as viable as in Business Banking and Wealth Management. More and more banks understand the total interconnectedness of retail with most other divisions of the organization. When the bank takes a holistic view of the customer, it wins, the customer wins, associates win and so do the shareholders.
|
||||
 |
| Inconsistency of conversation will always be a challenge. Deepening and broadening customer relationships requires strategy, support through various tools, focus on reducing barriers and ongoing management efforts. A standard methodology for introducing new customers to the bank, gaining a greater knowledge of existing clients, urgency around service requests and problem resolution are all priority one. Throughout 2006, we’ll detail some retail strategies and success practices our clients employ to optimize the retail conversation and make the customer experience second to none. They include:
This month we’ll provide an overview of the first two concepts. Onboarding – Creating The Honeymoon Effect There is a concept called “The never happier syndrome.” Married readers know this occurred when you and your spouse said “I Do.” At that moment in time, the planets and stars aligned and all was right with the world. When the customer opens that first account at your bank they have a similar, albeit less exciting experience. To take steps toward growing that new “marriage” and to deepen the connection, many banks conduct New Customer Orientations. This is a way to understand HOW the customer uses the bank and not WHAT they want to buy next. Onboarding is the term our clients use. The key to success here is to ask not tell. Clients that have had the greatest success with Onboarding employ a checklist of questions. They are asked toward the end of the initial conversation but, depending on timing, they don’t all have to be asked. This is about the customer not about how many tick marks the banker can show their manager. Here are a few of the questions:
Bankers like the process since it does not force them to push “the next best product” to lift their cross-sell or sales per FTE ratio. The customer builds trust with their new banker faster and they experience something very different from the norm. Our clients find that new customers refer others to their new banker as a result of these questions. Time allowing, the banker takes the new customer around to introduce them to the teller manager, the branch manager, etc. Here’s an idea; if there is time why not have the banker introduce the customer to a top teller that is typically at the branch when the customer typically does their business? Talk about a love connection! Onboarding Small Business Customers Onboarding works well for them too – especially those not assigned to or too small for a relationship manager. What if you had a couple of Onboarding Ambassadors that had the responsibility to visit each new business customer within 30 days of their account opening? The Ambassador learns more about the business and additional needs they may have. The owner and his or her employees learn to navigate routines at the new bank quicker and everyone at the company (who might also buy retail services) is pleased with the new relationship. Senior management thinks about the cost of a program of this nature. Our question would be what is the value of deepening a partnership with a potentially great client and great new referral source? |
||
|
 |
|
22261 – Keeping the Honeymoon Going – At Least for One Year When that brand new customer leaves the new accounts desk, what type of follow up starts in motion? Most banks would tell you that a follow up letter is sent and some even make a telephone outreach call to be certain the customer receives their checks. We observe high levels of inconsistency when bankers conduct these activities. Letters tend to be product focused and phone calls tend to push services versus becoming ways to learn more about needs. Worst of all the entire process tends to be inconsistent from branch to branch. SM&H collaborated with several clients to create 22261. One Midwest bank has modified the process to a 12341 model. That works well for them too. The process is simple:
This is easy to do? Of course it isn’t. It takes commitment, leadership and linking the vision of the bank to action. In short, it’s SAY/DO. Customers love it and banks that execute this well have seen great lift in business from that new customer overtime versus putting some false 30-day clock on things because that’s how incentives are calculated. We are increasingly in a commodity business – checking accounts are mostly free, home equity loans are all the same. It’s what you and your retail staff wrap around those services that defines your bank. In April 2006 I’ll
be back to revisit issues around profiling, technology and training.
Until then, don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions
or comments about retail banking in 2006. I can be reached at 630-541-6519.
Share Your Thoughts The hyperlink below takes you to a short 4 question survey that relates to some retail success practices. We’ll share results with you in the March 2006 edition. |
||
|
|
|
Get your colleagues to register and get a jump on 2006 Conversation Signposts can help you exceed your sales goals. If someone else at your bank wishes to receive Conversation Signposts forward them this edition and they can then click on the hyperlink below and follow the instructions. http://www.stmeyerandhubbard.com/signup.html
|
| Jack
Hubbard Chairman 847-717-4328 jhubbard@stmeyerandhubbard.com |
Bob St.
Meyer President 847-717-4322 bstmeyer@stmeyerandhubbard.com |
|
 |
