The Company
The company is a large financial services firm located primarily in the United States. Throughout its history, the company has offered a variety of financial products from retail banking, credit cards, home lending products and other consumer facing services. The company ranks in the top 10 in the US based on deposits and is a domestically well-known brand.
The Challenge
A particular division saw a decline in customer satisfaction as customers journeyed through the originations pipeline. While moderately financially successful, the division leadership knew additional growth would be impaired until the customer experience was better understood and improved. Most of the costs occurred early in the process with almost no revenue collected until the completion of the process. Any customer retention issues during originations resulted in a double-impact of cost increase and revenue leakage.
Further, for a company that prided itself externally on being customer-focused, evidence of customer-centricity was lacking across the division, ranging from absence of customer metrics, customer influence and even mention of the customer in leadership discussions and decision making.
Fundamentally, division leadership understood that cost containment and revenue protection required an evolution to a truly customer-obsessed culture.
The Approach:
Starting by creating a Customer Experience (CX) Pod, the team assessed the current state of customer-centricity in the division. Understanding the key themes, the team created a program across 6 threads:
Voice of the Customer (VOC) Program
CXP (Customer Experience Professional) Training, Certification & Graduation
Visually Exciting Recognition & Branding
CX Coaching and Mentoring, Call Monitoring/Testing
CX Performance Management
Hiring for CX
Using the VOC program as a foundation, the CX Pod brought “The Customer” into prime visibility across the division. Individual team members recognized the value of the internal CXP certification. Branding and celebrations focused the division’s attention on desired behaviors and outcomes. Enhancing coaching and performance management programs to include CX provided opportunities to advance CX skills and identify where individuals were not delivering expected CX. Changing the inbound talent process to include CX in screening and source talent in industries with strong customer-focus created a pipeline of individuals with the customer at the center of their approach.
The Outcome:
Within 6 months of launching CXP, NPS moved from languishing in the 20s & 30s to consistently in the 60s & 70s. Business decisions were made considering the customer impact. Customers remained in the pipeline at higher rates resulting in improved financials for the division. Additionally, customer feedback uncovered opportunities for operational improvement that lowered cost and increased speed of the process. Other divisions throughout the company sought to bring this approach into their division. Customer stories brought emotional impact during Town Halls. Team members no longer referred to the “folders they worked” but instead spoke of “the families they helped”. Focus on the customer became part of the DNA of the organization.