- April 10, 2023
- Posted by: Gopal Krishna
- Categories:
Can Customer Experience (Cx) drive business?
I got curious to know if there are any companies who owe their business to Cx. Not surprisingly, there are companies representing different industries and geos. I chose 3 X 3 Matrix; 3 Companies & 3 Cx business strategies. One, Cx as strategic differentiator in a big boys banking industry. Two, Cx as key business enabler in a crowded mobile services market. Three, Cx as a turn-around strategy to survive in a telecom world.
I am very excited to be writing about Giffgaff which used Cx as a business enabler in a cluttered Mobile Services Market.
Many of you familiar with UK Banking industry, may have heard of Metro Bank. Metro Bank started by very successful American Banker Mr. Vernon W. Hill II. Metro Bank is the first New High Street Bank in over 100 years in UK. Hitherto, UK Banking industry had been dominated by big banks like Llyods, HSBC, RBS-NatWest and Barclays. Metro Bank started with four branches (read stores) in July 2010 in London. Currently, it has 40 branches/stores in Greater London and targets to reach 110 by 2020. Metro Bank became public and is listed on LSE from March 2016.
Metro Bank won ‘Best Branch Strategy Award’ at the Retail Banker International Awards 2015’. Congratulations Metro!
The Beginning
Metro meticulously pinned down current banking process pain points encountered by customers and questioned the old ways of doing things. And find new ways to do business with customers. It could mean focusing always on doing what’s best for customers. A case in point, branches are run as retail stores. Metro stores operate practically 365 days/year (closed on only 3 days).
There are THREE Pillars to Metro’s Cx Journey – Customer On-boarding & Feedback, Employee Empowerment and Company Culture.
Customer On-boarding & Feedback
- Metro Branches distinct design and Branch tours for first time visitors
- Customer on-boarding is instantaneous; application, debit card printing, online & mobile banking activation
- Omni-channel presence; 24/7 contact center, online banking and mobile banking channels including the first drive-thru bank in the UK.
- Employees ask customers directly about their experience (Cx) with the bank, diligently track complaints to resolve them and take any form of feedback very seriously to learn and implement
- Net Promoter Score (NPS). All the inputs shared by customers and employees are analyzed to gain insights on things that are going well and where it isn’t.
Employee Empowerment
- 360 degree view of customer, Cx dashboards and omni-channel view of customer interactions
- Employees focus on Cx and can raise issues concerning any negative impact
- Employees do not have sales targets, instead they are incentivized for enhancing customer experience.
- Yammer to encourage employees to engage with other employees across branches; share experiences especially to highlight when they’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping customers and anything else that would help each other learn
- And, employees are empowered to do things that help customers instead of consulting central team.
Company Culture
Metro goes by a cultural philosophy known as AMAZE; Attend to every detail, Make every wrong right, Ask if you don’t know, Zest is contagious – share it, and Exceed expectations. Employees are hired for their alignment to AMAZE, for their attitudes, friendly nature, talent and values towards customers. New hires go through “Visions and Values” classes at “Metro Bank University”. The aim is to get into the “heads, hearts, minds, and souls” of staff before letting them loose on shop floor.
Metro is focused on Community Service events especially for younger generation. Metro is involved with local schools in teaching kids about money, banking and saving (5 for 5 club); working with local businesses to help them with their finances. And not just that, they invite children to visit stores and go into the vault.
I conclude with what Mr. Vernon Hill says about creating Fans, not Customers for your business.
“Fans tell their friends about you. They join your team. At family and friends’ barbecues, they tell everyone about something magnificent your employees did for them, above and beyond the call of duty. They don’t patronize you, they become you.”
