Hamer
Bank Consulting
Achieving Excellence in Customer Service
If you talk with most community bank CEOs they will tell you that the key to their success is their level of customer service. However, we believe that there is a major difference between talking about service and actual execution. In order to create a competitive advantage and gain market share, a community bank must go beyond service and create customer loyalty. Only then will you be able to stand above your competition.
First Impressions
You only get one chance so you had better get it right. From the front desk all the way to bank operations, the impression your employees make in their interactions with your clients is critical to how successful you will be in creating a culture of service. We can provide a thorough analysis of how well your staff is performing in this regard. This analysis can provide an initial benchmark to help formulate a plan for improving service delivery. First impressions often go beyond the obvious interpersonal contact. Hamer Bank Consulting will provide you with our first impression analysis of your grounds and facilities.
Sales Through Service
Research has shown that high pressure sales tactics are not an effective strategy for growing a loyal core customer deposit base. More troubling, high pressure cross-sales tactics have caught the attention of regulators in a decidedly negative way. Hamer Bank Consulting can work with you and your staff to develop a service based sales culture that suits your company and customer profile. Our program includes a sales through service approach to incentive planning as well as employee evaluations. Through this innovative approach, employees are able to control their own advancement opportunities. This in turn can help management to eliminate most of the subjectivity commonly found in traditional performance evaluation programs.
Delivery & Execution
It's not enough for bank leaders to publicly declare their commitment to service delivery. In order to achieve true success every element of the process must be analyzied and adjusted to ensure the strategy is aligned. A thorough analysis of customer service delivery must include all touch points throughout the organization including operations. Promises of superior service delivery must be ingrained within the company's culture. In addition, it is imperative that service delivery be measured on a regular basis against set standards to ensure that efforts are effective. These standards can also be utilized to assess branch performfance as well as how well individual expectations are being met.
Customer Loyalty
The battle for consumer wallet share continues to present one of the greatest challenges for banks of all sizes. As all bank products and services are essentially the same, community banks must rely on a strong service culture in order to stay abreast of its competition. Having no strategic plan, or worse competing on rates and fees as set by your competition is not a desired path to success. Creating customer loyalty through a relationship based approach combined with superior service delivery provides the best path to creating a competitive advantage. The creation and retention of a loyal core customer base is one of the key factors in building franchise value.