Process improvement streamlines sales and customer service

A financial institution implements process improvement across their lines of business to align sales and customer service.

At a glance:

A patchwork of disjointed sales and support processes was hampering this financial institution’s efforts to grow their customer base. That’s why they contacted us.

Customer challenge

Each of the organization’s lines of business (LOBs) had developed its own systems for sales and support. The resulting landscape of siloed processes, applications, and databases hindered efforts to improve the customer experience and leverage cross-selling opportunities. Customers and prospects sometimes received sales visits from two different reps from two different business lines on the same day, with neither aware of the other’s intentions.

As we analyzed our client’s processes, we recognized that each line of business was operating as if it were an independent company. Vital customer information was locked away in silos, and the organization had no processes or incentives for collaboration on a day-to-day basis.

Why they chose us

We had built a relationship with this client spanning more than 15 years and over 60 successful projects. The client recognized us as a trusted advisor who knew their culture and their way of working, but who would also challenge them to adjust their perspectives in helping them achieve their goals.

Approach and solution

We worked with leadership from all lines of business to develop sales and service processes spanning the entire customer lifecycle, from first contact through ongoing support. After meeting with each team to discuss and document their goals, metrics, and processes, we looked for synergies across LOBs as well as points of differentiation. In analyzing the differences, we distinguished those that were necessary from those that had emerged by force of habit. This analysis gave us a comprehensive understanding of the bank’s existing operations and their needs for addressing present and future challenges, which enabled us to move forward with a mindful optimization of their processes.

Once we had optimized our client’s processes, we helped them maximize use of their existing technology by integrating data across systems, enabling information-sharing across LOBs without requiring a huge investment.

Value and benefits – “The Wins”

After working with us to improve their sales and service processes, the organization was able to eliminate duplicate efforts, streamline their sales funnel, capitalize on cross-selling opportunities, and deliver superior service throughout the customer lifecycle.