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Put YOUR Service to the TEST

Just as Lumiere, in Beauty and the Beast (Disney 1991), was excited to have Belle to serve; so, should your front-line people be excited to serve your clients.  Providing the right financial solutions is more than just a concept – it is a pledge to help improve their financial situation. 

“Ah, those good old days when we were useful, suddenly those good old days are gone.”

Does it feel like the whole world has gone digital, mobile and instant?  That branches are no longer relevant?  Has your institution discussed closing branches and eliminating FTEs?  Time to reconsider – One of the top findings in The 2016 North American Consumer Digital Banking Survey by Accenture is that Branch Interest is up.  “Consumers expressed renewed interest in the branch, where they can connect with human advisers”, and this included 86% of the Millennials who participated in the survey.

Are your human advisers ready?  To succeed today, your greatest asset, your people, need to have a service culture that extends far beyond being nice and pleasant.  Their job is to be an identifier of needs, and a solver of problems.  They need to have the mindset that any time a customer contacts them, it is because they have a problem.  How can that problem be determined and solved with the right solution?  By being consumer focused (consultative), not product focused.  Is your staff up to the challenge?  Is your organization?  Do you have a High Performance, Consumer First Culture that is integrated into every department? 

A high-performance culture starts at the top, with leadership establishing a strong belief structure in the value of the consumer and the client experience.  In a recent study entitled, Retail Banking 2020: Evolution or Revolution? PWC said “…nearly all bankers surveyed view attracting new customers as one of their top challenges over the next two years. Banks are hungry for growth, and finding new customers is the first response of a good product banker. However, banks also recognize the need to deepen their customer relationships and focus more on specific customer outcomes. Hence, enhancing customer service is the number one investment priority for banks…”  This number one investment is in their personnel. 

So how can you improve your client’s experience?  By treating them as G.U.E.S.T.s! G.U.E.S.T. is an acronym for a five-step engagement process that helps your front-line team take control of the client interaction.  G.U.E.S.T. stands for:

Greet – Uncover – Educate – Suggest – Thank

Having an effective two-way conversation is the key to being truly G.U.E.S.T. focused, and therefore consultative.  This process allows the customer to talk freely about their needs rather than listen to an employee perform a lengthy product dump.  Being G.U.E.S.T. focused means asking the right questions and explaining the WHY behind their recommendations.  They provide VALUE that competitors can’t match. Every community financial institution says that their differentiating factor is their service, but do you feel comfortable that your customer has the same experience no matter which branch or contact point they interact with? Are you confident your front-line staff is identifying every potential product opportunity that could meet your client’s needs?  If not, or to learn more about treating your customers as G.U.E.S.T.s, contact us today.