Customer service strategy for pan-European Internet retail financial services
Xelector was launched as the first pan-European Internet marketplace for branded retail financial services products.
Xelector created a sophisticated one-stop shop for Europe’s consumers to select, compare and buy the best financial products, matched to precise needs. Xelector is supported by enba plc, the Dublin-based holding company which developed and launched Europe’s first Internet-only bank, first-e. Enba is amongst the most solidly financed Internet business in the world, with capital backing of EUR 87.4 million.
The initial product offering was Credit cards, mortgages and auto insurance. The offering was expanded and rolled out to major continental European countries after the initial UK launch in Q2 2000. According to Forrester Research, 3.1 million Europeans would be using the Internet for guidance on financial services by the year 2000. It estimated that by 2002 this number will jump to 10 million.
Having designed the business strategy and gained financial backing, Xelector’s next step was to develop a customer services strategy, which CCL were brought on to assist with. The focus of the strategy was to satisfy customer needs while using technology and minimising cost.
Alongside web research to identify current best practice, a series of interviews were carried out to understand the current thinking within the Xelector team. Different options were evaluated, comparing productivity, cost and satisfaction to the customer in order to come up with the most cost effective customer service. This support needed to be integrated, irrespective of product, to ensure that the customer’s experience was consistent.
It was suggested that the Xelector customer service should comprise of:
- Level 1: self-help, FAQs, on-line help
- Level 2: human email response (supported by intelligent software)
- Level 3: chat boxes (immediate response). A further level of telephone support was also required for the more complex products
Following on from this, CCL were commissioned to implement the strategy. This involved recruiting a Customer Service Manager, evaluating technical options and platforms for customer service capability, assessing possible suppliers/partners and managing the selection and contracting process, and defining the key processes and service levels.