By employing a customer centric business strategy that focuses on your customers’ needs and preferences, your organization can begin to move ahead of competitors facing the same pressures. Based on the experiences of real-world financial services customers, this business paper provides general guidelines to help other financial services companies navigate through all of the changes required to transform into a client-focused organization.
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Pivotal CRM - Efficient Client Relationships
1. W H I T E
P A P E R
Drive Efficient Client Relationships:
Using CRM To Focus on Clients and Generate Lasting Value
Executive Summary
In an industry with decreasing product differentiation and increasing client sophistication,
financial services firms are facing an uphill battle to make themselves and their products stand
apart from the competition. However, by employing a customer centric business strategy that
focuses on your customers’ needs and preferences, your organization can begin to move ahead
of competitors facing the same pressures.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the technology that will enable your employees to
do just that. CRM is more than building contacts and managing address books: it's about build-
ing relationships and understanding and growing customer value—a key goal for many financial
services firms.
In the six years that the Pivotal CRM team has been deploying CRM solutions across more than
120 financial services firms, we've seen our customers succeed through a combination of focus-
ing on clients instead of products and services, adapting processes and technology to support
this new focus, and making cultural changes in their organizations as a foundation from which to
transform their businesses.
Based on the experiences of real-world financial services customers, this business paper
provides general guidelines to help other financial services companies navigate through all of
the changes required to transform into a client-focused organization. While not an exhaustive
discussion of how to succeed with CRM, this set of guidelines will provide you with a starting
point to guide your research as you consider how to deal with similar challenges.
2. Challenges Facing Financial Who's really winning here? And how much longer will
clients tolerate multiple touch points within the same
Services organization, inconsistent levels of service, and the need
to provide redundant information during every interaction?
Financial services firms—in private banking, commercial
banking, investment banking, asset management, retail
banking, and even insurance—face intensifying chal- Clients Are Becoming More
lenges today that are causing a great deal of pain. Their Sophisticated
markets are mature and continue to consolidate, translat-
Not only are clients communicating with several channels,
ing into an abundance of choice for banking clients. And
they are also becoming more sophisticated in their finan-
product differentiation is decreasing, leaving institutions
cial knowledge. As more information becomes available
to compete on price or find other value-added services
to clients each year in books, on television, and over the
offerings.
Internet, clients are now willing and able to do their own
All banks offer virtually the same products, and dif- research and, consequently, their expectations are rising.
ferentiating these products any further is getting difficult,
In addition, non-competitive rates, both on the lending
despite niche marketing efforts. And with banks selling
and investment sides of the business, have indirectly
insurance, insurance companies selling mutual funds,
trained clients to shop around. Without a deep relation-
and planners selling anything, the landscape is becoming
ship, even if clients are satisfied with your service,
more and more confusing from a client's perspective; the
they'll drop you in a heartbeat if they can get a better
clients are left asking themselves "which product is really
deal across the street. Looking for the best deal is now
the best one for me?" In addition to market challenges,
ingrained in both individual and commercial accounts;
many banks are also experiencing internal challenges: lost
they'll often compare offerings from two or three banks
cross-selling opportunities, retention of corporate memory,
and go with the best offer.
lack of immediate visibility and tracking in business units,
or easily identifying clients with large spheres of influence,
just to name a few. The Solution: Focusing on Your
Clients
“
Switching from one provider to another is
getting easier every day, so client retention
Financial services firms like yours are fighting to attract
new clients every day. Consider shifting the focus from
attracting new clients to working with the clients you
has become a serious issue for most financial already have. This will allow you to expand the depth of
your interactions with them. One way to truly differentiate
institutions. If you give clients what they want, your business from competitors is to build stronger,
they'll be more likely to stay with you longer. But deeper relationships with your clients. By understanding
these deep relationships within your current client base,
first, you need to find out exactly what it is that you will not only sell more into them, but also grow your
”
they want. customer base in the future.
Competing on Price or Products is Not
In addition, banks often sell in silos, meaning their clients Enough
purchase a product or service from one department, and Competing on price, though tempting, isn't a long-term
another product or service from a different department. solution. That's not to say that you don't need to offer
competitive rates, but rather have them be just one part
Multiple Silos Are Frustrating Clients of the offering. In private banking, for example, clients'
main concerns are high levels of service and personal
One institution often has multiple touch points with attention, whereas product and pricing are secondary.
the same client—meeting with advisors, transacting in Betting on transaction volume is also an uncertain game.
branches, interacting with call centers, and interacting You may acquire new clients this way, but they'll be off
over the web, just to name a few. One result of these again whenever they find a better offer. What about the
multiple touch points is inconsistent and frustrating experi- ones you lose? How long can you keep this up? As for
ences for the client if the information isn't consolidated products, do you really offer anything that is unique? If so,
into one central source. A second result is that banks are how long will it be before the competition comes up with
missing out on valuable cross-selling opportunities, and something similar?
the potential to grow each client's lifetime value.
Pivotal CRM | White Paper 1
3. A Relentless Focus on Clients is organization's reputation. In all lines of financial services,
the results are missed opportunities and lost revenue.
Imperative
What is the competitive advantage now, especially in such Give your clients what they want, how they want it, when
an intensely competitive market? The relationship and the they want it, and make it easy for them to deal with you.
interactions you have with each client fast becomes the Become an expert on what matters most to them.
key to your success. Financial services organizations can • Make it easy for clients to choose the channel that's
and should focus on the client to drive top line revenue right for them—whether it's online, telephone, face-to-
and bottom line results; this requires a company-wide face, or branch banking.
shift in focus—to the client experience.
• Compete based on service, not solely on offering
When you really think about it, the relationships your products that are essentially the same as what your
competitors are selling. Service is king, and service
“
leads to long-term benefits for everyone.
The only things within your control are the
• Offer multiple products and services to each single
relationships your organization builds with your client. That is, offer a solution: a selection of the right
clients. No one can take these relationships away products and services designed to suit them.
from you, unless you give them the opportunity. Relationships Are the Key to Creating
At the end of each day, relationships between Creating a positive client experience also ties directly to
people--your employees and your clients--are the perceived value of each interaction. By offering value
to your customer and ensuring that they stay with your
”
what keep you in business. organization will help to ensure maximized wallet share.
This requires collaboration within the organization. But
herein lays the challenge.
organization builds with your clients are the only things
within your control. No one can take these relationships From commercial banking to wealth management,
away from you, unless you give them the opportunity. At each part of a financial services organization operates
the end of each day, relationships between people—your somewhat independently. While this has a lot to do
employees and your clients—are what keep you in busi- with regulatory constraints, banks can become more
ness. Better client management is now essential. integrated by focusing on client experience and ensuring
that each touch point is consistent. If you're easy to do
What this means is that everything your organization business with and conduct business according to your
does, from updating processes to implementing incentive clients' preferences, you'll attract more clients, retain them,
programs needs to drive towards a positive customer and benefit from their increased loyalty.
experience. Call center agents, in-branch representatives,
account managers, and fund managers all need to focus Creating value for clients, rather than focusing solely on
on meeting the customer's needs, instead of simply profit, is a process that lies at the core of all successful
processing the next transaction. enterprises. As an effect, client loyalty reliably measures
whether or not a company has delivered superior value:
A strong client base is critical to business success, and clients either come back for more or they go elsewhere.
doing business with people you trust and understand As a cause, loyalty initiates a series of economic effects
is more predictable, efficient, and profitable than doing that flow through the business, such as:
business with uncommitted strangers. Client loyalty drives
• Revenues and market share grow as the best clients
business success and can lead to referral business. For
are attracted to the company, building repeat sales and
example, capital market firms rely heavily on their reputa-
referrals.
tion and track record for referrals. Consistently high reten-
tion can create tremendous competitive advantage, boost • Sustainable growth enables the company to attract and
employee morale, and produce unexpected bonuses in retain the best employees, such as the top fund sales
productivity and growth. management for asset management firms.
• Long-term employees learn how to reduce costs and
Conversely, persistent defection means that former
improve quality, which further enriches the client value
clients—people convinced your organization offers
proposition and increases productivity.
inferior value—will eventually outnumber your loyal clients
and dominate the perception of your organization in the • Increasing productivity coupled with the increasing
marketplace as a whole. When that moment arrives, no efficiency of dealing with loyal clients generates the kind
amount of advertising, public relations, or ingenious mar- of cost advantage that is very difficult for competitors to
keting will prop up pricing, new-client acquisitions, or your match.
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4. Before starting any initiative, from an organizational sales is trying to reduce costs and streamline their pro-
perspective, it is imperative to understand how you want cesses, how will this impact the way clients are serviced?
your firm to work with, service, and sell to your current Is their a gap between what these two units are trying to
clients. CRM is simply the tool that enables and supports achieve?
business initiatives and processes.
Set Your Corporate Objectives
Consider the needs of a discount brokerage firm. The
business is built around cost-effective trading for the firm's Think about where you would like your organization to be.
clients; the business requirement is to build processes If what you see in the mirror isn't quite what you had in
that support serving clients in the most cost effective mind, take the leap and imagine a best case scenario.
manner possible. Now compare that to a financial
planner, dealing with high net-worth individuals, who Imagine understanding which clients are your most profit-
needs to serve their clients in a completely different able and ensuring that you maximize the value of these
manner. top-tier clients. Or imagine having your lenders access
one central location for client information, rather than
“
scanning through multiple systems before every sales call.
A critical factor in shifting to a client focus Brainstorm to see what might be possible.
over the long term is changing the culture
Set CRM Goals
throughout your organization to support it—no
Once you've done your research, the next step in prepar-
easy task. This type of transformation begins ing for a successful CRM implementation is to determine
with a commitment to change the way your your goals. Aim for goals that will support a long-term
vision. Rather than planning one or two years in advance,
”
organization functions as a business. broaden the scope and look further to ensure that your
short-term goals and your long-term goals line up. Our
customers have found that looking three years, five years,
Like any project that is both strategic and ambitious, a
even ten years into the future has helped them explain to
CRM project can seem overwhelming at first. Thorough
their leadership the impact they expect their CRM projects
research precedes each and every successful CRM
to have.
implementation. Our customers have found that breaking
down CRM projects into several small, achievable steps Once those longer term goals are set, the best approach
makes the projects more manageable. is to take incremental steps with CRM that will get you
there. Rather than having a singular, ultimate CRM
Do Your Research success goal, satisfy the short-term milestones that
ensure your longer term vision is met.
Identify Your Strengths
Although your CRM goals will be unique to your business,
By taking a good look at your organization from inside here are some goals set by several of our financial
out and from outside in, you will begin to develop a clear services customers prior to their CRM implementations, to
picture of it. Put yourself in your customers' shoes: what jump starting your thinking. They set out to:
does service from your organization look like? Would
you be happy with the current processes? Consider how • Deepen Client Relationships. Your ultimate goal could
you are serving existing customers and attracting new be to deepen the relationships you have with all your
customers. Are your advisors missing opportunities by not clients by getting to know them, their needs, their
pursuing them? wants, their preferences, their spheres of influence, and
so on—the basics of effective relationship building in
Identify The Gaps private banking, for example. What is common sense,
however, is not always common practice. Don't hesitate
Compare where your organization is today and where to put what appears to be an obvious goal on your
you'd like it to be in the future. Most likely there are gaps. list. The day may come when you and your colleagues
What do you need to do to move forward? It is important need a gentle reminder.
to first understand what is ultimately driving the need for
change. What is the overall business strategy? What are • Learn From Your Clients. Although it's important to
the drivers that will direct any changes to processes and provide your clients with all the information they need,
requirements? your clients also represent a wealth of information
useful to your organization. If you design a feedback
The strategies of different groups within your organization loop into your CRM system to capture what's working
need to be in line so that changes to one do not adversely and what's not from your clients' perspectives, you'll
impact the other. For example, in financial services, if
Pivotal CRM | White Paper 3
5. have a head start in determining how to continue to return on capital by 3% is the main goal, for example,
serve them better. every process change needs to map back to that goal.
• Create a Distinctive, Competitive Image. In an industry
with little product differentiation, what sets you apart Re-engineer Your Processes
from your competitors is the relationships you have
Once you have determined how your employees interact
with your clients, employees, and partners. One of your
with your clients and what makes the best client experi-
goals in commercial banking could be to create a dis-
ence, the processes that support each interaction need
to be examined. Simply put, reengineer customer facing
“ For financial services organizations, there are
three basic levels of impact of CRM that can be
processes before implementing CRM. Transforming the
way you do business so that you're focused on client
needs will run wide and deep, and it will take time. Look at
every business practice to make sure it is in line with your
measured. At the first level, which can be felt new focus.
almost immediately, companies will experience
Use best practices in everything you do. If another
an operational impact in the form of improved company in another industry has figured out how to do
quality and efficiency of their interactions. The something effectively, borrow from them. Why recreate
existing solutions from scratch?
second level of impact is client-based, when a
Address sales, marketing, and services processes early to
more seamless experience improves retention. ensure that they will flow seamlessly. For consistency, you
The third level of impact is the most profound: can standardize and share effective processes throughout
your entire organization; consistent processes are also
companies are able to make smarter business easier to measure.
decisions based on a new, deeper insight
into the client and market trends that shape Enable Processes With Technology
”
profitability. CRM technology is one of the most effective tools you
can use to make the transformation to becoming a
client-focused organization. While any organization can
tinctive brand that helps your clients readily recognize benefit from CRM, financial services firms are particularly
who you are, what benefits you offer, and what kind of suited to reaping the rewards of CRM because their
experience they'll likely have when dealing with you for multiple, complex layers of client interactions contain the
all their commercial needs. potential to develop and nurture lifetime value out of client
relationships.
• Maximize Marketing ROI. Traditionally, the marketing
net in financial services has been cast widely. By Armed with the knowledge of how best to service your
profiling your clients, campaigns to targeted groups clients and what processes are needed to do so, you can
who are likely to hold the greatest profit potential can be now start to prepare your organization as much as you
executed for any offer. The result? Highly targeted offers can. This will help your organization figure out what they
reach the right people and organizations ensuring your really need from their CRM solution, and minimize the gap
marketing dollars are spent in the best way. between business strategies and IT strategies. Too many
• Establish a Foundation for Growth. A final goal could companies buy first and learn later that they should have
be to use CRM, and all of the above goals, to set the waited to determine what they really needed.
foundation for the sustainable and high quality growth
of your organization. This is probably already one of That isn't to say that changes cannot be made later. By
your goals. Think of it from a new angle by including it implementing a CRM system with a flexible and scaleable
in your CRM project. architecture, you can ensure that as your business needs
grow, your CRM system will continue to perform. Ensure
that the breadth and depth of the system is consistent
Business Strategy & Drivers with your needs. Apply the underlying technology that will
One of the biggest obstacles facing CRM projects is help you accomplish your unique goals.
getting a clear understanding of the underlying business
strategy. Examining what the organization's business strat- • Data accuracy is crucial. Do whatever it takes to scrub
egies are and what drives them should direct any change your data in advance of a CRM implementation. As you
within the business. By knowing that an increase to the can imagine, this will take a lot of time and effort for
your IT staff, but it's well worth the effort.
Pivotal CRM | White Paper 4
6. • Bring together all of your client data into one compre- sufficient and accurate client information. Even though,
hensive database; this will require connecting disparate, from a regulatory perspective, all information cannot
legacy databases throughout your organization. While be accessed across business units, it is important to
this is a huge undertaking, the results far outweigh the understand that a client does business elsewhere in
effort. Having all client information accessible over time your organization. Metrics can be added to indicate to
is the whole point of CRM; the value created will greatly other business units that a particular client is ranked as
exceed the efforts you put into making it happen. top tier.
• Link your CRM system to all the other systems that • Integrate front-office information—the interactions your
your employees use regularly, employees have with your clients—with back-office
such as e-mail and scheduling systems and transactional data. Your employees will be
Customer Relationship applications. This way, your able to see both the transactions and the interactions
Management : What is it? employees will be more likely associated with a particular client simultaneously.
to incorporate CRM into their • Finally, segment, or profile, your client base, so you
Customer Relationship Management,
day-to-day activities. You can begin to understand the potential of each client's
or 'CRM', is a category of software
applications used by companies to can't expect anyone to open lifetime value. That way, you can provide the right level
connect data, people, and processes one application for e-mail, of service based on the segment they represent. Your
across the customer-facing front-office open another application for marketing efforts can now be targeted to ensure that
(sales, marketing, service, and partner their calendar, and open a
management). The simplest essence of
these highest value one-to-one touches are directed to
third application to access the right clients. Relationships aren't all equal. With the
CRM's mission is to help companies know client data. It is imperative to
how their customers like to do business, right information, your employees will be able to see a
so that customers keep coming back to
connect all your organization's client's potential immediately without having to dig for it,
buy more. data and make it as acces- or—worse—give up trying.
sible as possible.
Not all CRM is equal—when qualifying
vendors, make sure the suite of software • Take into consider- Put Your People First
applications has good breadth of ation the internal governance
capabilities across all customer-facing procedures, and understand Building and managing all of the long-term relationships
functions of your company. It should be how this will impact your connected to your business will become even more rel-
capable of delivering everything from
schedule. evant in the future than it has been in the past. Improving
cash management flagging, ROE visibility, relationships is about creating partnerships in which
and portfolio allocation planners to • Most importantly, stakeholders—clients, employees, partners, investors—
relationship modelers, influence trackers, align your IT and internal
trading portals, research distribution
share in the value they help to create.
auditing side with the business
engines, and event and expense tracking
side of your organization—not In service-based businesses today, the learning curve
modules.
the other way around. Many of individual employees has a profound effect on both
All these applications should work companies believe they revenues and costs. It grows out of the cumulative
together seamlessly. They should also be
can fit their processes to a decision-making experience an employee builds over time
available to deploy in modular phases,
starting with only the components that technology solution after the through relationships with clients, partners, and fellow
address your most important business fact. Unfortunately, there are employees.
objectives. Even if you initially deploy one CRM vendors who believe
function (i.e. sales force automation), it is this as well. In our experience, The relevant driver of an organization's learning potential
crucial that you have room to grow your and in our customers' experi- is how long individual employees have interacted with
solution, plugging in new functionality ences, business needs to specific customers, vendors, and fellow employees.
(i.e., marketing automation) as you Companies don't learn; individuals do, and their learning
take priority. Determine what
measure ROI.
your business needs are first, takes time.
and then choose the solution
• Determine what information your employees need
that is most closely aligned to
to work smarter. Train them well and often, and you
those needs.
will recognize the difference. Plan for both initial and
continual education for all employees. Don't just teach
Integrate Client Information them how to use the CRM system, teach them to work
In order to truly know your clients, give all employees the in teams and support one another; teach them client
same, holistic view of the client. If everyone has the same service skills and professional selling techniques.
360 degree view, they'll become aware of the current • Encourage innovation, collaboration, and input from
issues, needs, and successes clients have had. employees and capture their feedback. When you
introduce a new system, people will immediately come
• Share appropriate information across business units.
up with ways to improve it. Capture these ideas as they
Consolidate your client information in one central place,
arise, and work together with your staff to help evolve
so employees can focus on managing the relation-
the system.
ships with clients instead of having to fight the lack of
Pivotal CRM | White Paper 5
7. • Determine the needs of your clients, starting with doing Measure Results Continuously
your best to understand all segments of your client
base. What will make them more successful? When you implement new solutions, you need to track
their effectiveness precisely, using accurate rates of
• Identify how focused you are on client care and the client flow and turnover. As you've probably heard before,
improvements you would like to make at the individual you can't manage what you can't measure. Determine
and business account level; provide a forum for client what you want to measure in advance, so you'll have the
feedback. information you need in place.
• Create specialized teams to help serve each client,
rather than having a linear or one-to-one relationship The only practical way to shift your business to a client
with clients. Teams that are connected to each other focus is to carefully define and track defection rates,
and have access to the right information when they and then make sure your organization has the tools and
need it are able to anticipate what a client needs and training it needs to analyze failures and improve results—
when. continuously.
One thing to keep in mind as you measure is to always
Make Cultural Changes revisit the strategy. Has it shifted? When the business
A critical factor in shifting to a client focus over the long strategy and business drivers start to change, the
term is changing the culture throughout your organization processes in place need to support that change, which
to support it—no easy task. This type of transformation will impact results measurement. By implementing a
begins with a commitment to change the way your fluid system that allows you to make changes as your
organization functions as a business. processes and requirements evolve, you can ensure
continuous results.
• Start to recognize the value inherent in each of your
clients and in each group of clients, and what this value
means to your organization. Succeeding with CRM
• Motivate and compensate your employees to find solu- Let's assume that you've done your research, set your
tions for your clients, as opposed to merely processing goals, and identified strategies that will help you before,
transactions for them. Compensation, for example, during, and after the implementation of your CRM system.
is one area that has been used successfully alone or Many of the steps you've taken will indeed translate to
in conjunction with new processes and systems to your success. Is there anything else you can do? Yes.
support change.
What follows here are some additional guidelines— inde-
• Help your employees to become accountable for client pendent of technology—that have emerged from the
satisfaction and loyalty. Accountability is difficult to successful CRM implementations of our financial services
establish—you'll need both time and patience as you customers. Not all of these guidelines will necessarily be
nurture a culture of accountability throughout your relevant to your organization (and many are quite difficult
organization. The results, however, can be tremendous. to accomplish), but they're compelling recommendations
nonetheless. Here are many of our customers' guiding
Manage Costs Early and Often principles:
Address budgets early and often, both in advance of • Focus on what you do best. Many of our customers
and during the implementation, so you can plan for and claim that success in CRM comes down to focusing on
achieve zero cost overruns. There's nothing worse than what you're good at, and making sure you're the best
having to find more money during an incomplete project. at it. Before you create any new products to survive an
Our customers typically plan well ahead for the resources increasingly competitive market, take an honest look
they'll need, whereas other organizations experience at how you can be the best with the few products you
cost overruns of over 10 to 25 per cent, due to lack of already know your clients want to buy from you. Don't
planning. try to be everything to everybody.
Also keep in mind that if you choose the right solution, • Become a solutions provider. If you want your clients
implementation does not have to cost more than the to trust you and choose you, you have to understand
software itself. You may have heard of companies them. To create long-term relationships, it's necessary
spending two to three to six times the cost of software to move beyond being a transaction seller to becoming
for the implementation. This is the result of both selecting a solutions provider.
software and making decisions prematurely. • Recognize that CRM is a company strategy. Recognize
that this shift to becoming a relationship business is
a company strategy, not an IT strategy. To deepen
relationships, you have to delve into the way your
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