Connecting: the emotional wellbeing

Summary: [You might review the earlier post “Connecting: the routine associations” before this.] But they are comparatively less able to transform customer relationships to investments. Multinational concerns are cashing in.


Companies providing unstinted support are most likely to impress customers positively.

Focus on rapport

In India, foreign/multinationals cash in on this customer ‘connection’ eluding the nationalized Banks.

Especially with the retiree customer groups, the focus is on rapport. Their specialist relationship managers take charge of personalized interactions.

Critical moments

Purchase decisions relate to certain moments of truth. In customer view, these are instances of swift service and satisfactory problem solutions. For example, in prompt help with credit card repayments, holds on cheques, investment and tax advices, answers on loans and so on.

Customers grow to appreciate and reward the company. These critical moments can spark over 85 percent of customers committing to assets investments or more product purchases, as research findings in retail banking have shown.

Emotional wellbeing

Priyanka, employed with a multinational concern, says:

Initially it takes time for both of us to get used to each other. And only after a while, with effective relationship building, it takes off.

Emotional wellbeing of the customer needs to be central to the service offered. Before buying further services, every customer tends to review expectations.

Encouraging customers

Feeling that their needs are being met at critical moments (and not the company or its representative’s at their expense), customers feel encouraged to relate further with the system.

Wary or skeptical customer attitudes can be changed to positive associations with brand – it just needs effort, and perseverance to expand the role.

Extended family

Priyanka, a relationship manager, explains –

Our main aim is to first deepen the routine relationships, and then to introduce them to various other products of the bank. For instance, I take care of their finances, their banking services, investment advices, and also maintain their portfolios, whatever they are.

What sort of success results? They become a part of the extended ‘family’.

Revenue contributors

Relationship managers, as the frontline people in touch with customers, are actually the main contributors who bring in the revenue for the Bank.

Priyanka says –

This is also a new concept for customers. They feel the privilege of having a dedicated Relationship Manager for all their banking needs, and respond wonderfully.

Clearly, the emotional connection is enough to transform the ‘routine’ to ‘unique’ relationships.

Guardians

Becoming guardians of customer wellbeing has paid off handsomely for the multinational concerns.

If nationalized sector members are to catch up they need to change big time their mindset on processes, and attitudes towards the regular, retiree customers.
As the research also showed, following negative experiences, up to 70 percent customers may turn away to other institutions.

Comments/opinions anyone??

Connecting: the routine associations

Summary: Nationalized Banks in India have a massive customer base. Yet relatively, their success with expanding the relationship isn’t comparable.


Nationalized Banks in India have vast networks spread throughout the country.

The network

In the metropolises they have hundreds of branches, e.g., 1016 in Delhi, 985 in Mumbai, 726 in Kolkata, and so on, besides catering to smaller cities, towns and far-flung rural areas.

Obviously, their customer complements are massive. Multinational Banks that have branches in tens at most, like say, 15 in Kolkata, and nothing in rural areas, can hardly compete with their numbers.

Mandatory association

The bulk of customers in the nationalized banking service are governmental employees/pensioners regularly receiving remittances into their accounts.

The association is mandatory ruled by legislative and bureaucratic norms.

New initiatives

Improving the quality of goods and services is generally perceived key to generating business. Many companies invest heavily in quality improvements and loyalty programmes.

But success with the new initiatives is mixed, rather than hugely successful.

The cost of retaining current customers is actually less than getting new ones.

Yet, despite their superior numbers, the success of the nationalized organizations in expanding relationships with their customers isn’t quite comparable to their multinational rivals.

Focus offline?

When the outcomes of higher sales and a healthier bottomline don’t naturally follow, perhaps the focus for generating business is offline.

Fact is, for relationships to become significant in the social context, emotional attachments are needed.

In the corporate world similarly, success (or failure) with customers depends on the nature of connections built with them.

The humdrum routine

Nationalized Banks appear to undervalue their massive base of accounts - e.g., of the retirees. So impersonal transactions can hardly do the trick for them.

Because these routine processes are basically humdrum, behaviour and attitudes of the organizational employees may, in fact, become noticeably negative towards the ageing public.

Many of those in direct contact with these regulars, thus rarely distinguish themselves in customer experience.

Diminishing the brand

Rather than nurture the interface, they appear to deliberately delay transactional processes or give customers the bureaucratic runaround should they approach with a problem or loan request.

The customers complain that the frontline people just couldn’t care less about what happens to them or to their money. Staff tend look upon the tasks they perform as unpleasant chores forced upon them or as charity to the public.

The mutual vibes of resentment have consequences – clearly diminishing brand relationships.

Investing out

Revenue opportunities for the institutions may evaporate because many in the banking industry operate by entrenched mindsets.

Customers feeling neglected or patronized, appreciate none of the service they receive. The accounts are kept open only to receive governmental remittances – that is, for the routine transactions only.

And at opportune moments, they move assets, investments and confidence votes out to other places, generally to the multinational corporations.

As a result, the nationalized industry fails to secure large investments from their own mandatory customer base.

Cont’d 2…the emotional wellbeing

Old habits die hard

Summary: Corporations in India use technology in relationship management. But the Indian customer psyche may be turned off by ‘faceless’ initiatives.


Multinational corporations in India, like Banks, are using technology in customer relationship management. It’s meant to connect with customers.

Call lists

The frontline sales staff manage these links through ’phone calls. They have access to customer databases to do so. The call lists are identical, so each pitches zealously to the same customers to ‘develop’ the relationship.

But, because of the increasing overheads, there’s pressure for ROI, and the sole objective of calling is to increase profitability through new technology.

Pitching sales?

Customers, however, are unimpressed. They evaluate service. For example, as one relates –

Bank’s credit card people constantly bombard me with unwanted loan offers… I called them for help with a relatively small credit limit enhancement on my card, but was told to ‘first apply for a loan’… Soon enough they came up with the ‘prize’ of an upgrade to twenty times the original credit value! These tricks are offensive. My account is decades old, but perhaps I should now switch Banks.

Aggressive

‘Foot-in-the-door’ sales tactics have always been used to manipulate customer needs aggressively.

These old marketing habits remain. The difference is their being tied-in with the new use of technology - telemarketing.

Squeezing brand

Research says that 80 percent of the business comes from existing customers. The credit card business is (or should be) a value-added scheme built on the longer-term association.

‘Selling’ shouldn’t become browbeating, but often does. The company thus appears to be squeezing the brand relationship – the cornerstone of their success.

Emotional needs

Relationships in collectivistic societies like India are built on strong emotional elements.

Many customers are unappreciative of unwanted calls. Few also among the frontline salespeople making the calls are adept at telephonic conversations.

They generally lack both learning and experience in putting the customers’ emotional needs ahead of their own (and the company’s) agenda.

Human contact

The telemarketing process could well erode customer loyalty. Impersonal technology is uncomfortable for a people used to face-to-face human contact.

From customer viewpoint, interactions with the individual employees matter, to earn loyalty and trust for the company.

Buyer decisions

Companies in the Indian cultural context, should be concerned about how these interactions could affect buyer decisions.

Their own market image may be affected, since the average customer doesn’t differentiate between the individual employee and the institution.

Besides, since consumers today tend to think over their choices, these practices may just transform relationships to worse instead of better.

Social sensitivity

Impersonal technology-driven initiatives may thus backfire in the social context. If aggressive and insensitive, they eventually weaken the source of selling itself.

The ability to handle sensitive social cognitive processes seldom comes naturally. That means sales personnel pushed into customer relationship management need to learn how to handle the interface effectively.

From the business viewpoint, it’s crucial for frontline staff to develop their own social sensitivity and emotional intelligence before they tackle the onerous task of dealing with customer sentiments.

Comments/opinions anyone??