CASE STUDY

The banking landscape has undergone a lot of changes in the last 10 years in Mauritius. The State Bank of Mauritius was faced with various challenges: new competitors, customers with multiple credit cards, mounting price competition and declining loyalty. State Bank needed to react to its competitors' growing success and do so quickly. In response, the Bank embarked upon a program of smarter customer acquisition and retention and service improvement together with strategic cost reduction and an improved product. At the core of this program was the transformation of its existing separate call centres into a single virtual call centre. However, this was not done in isolation and the company took steps to consider how the customers wanted to contact them

It therefore defined how customers could assess customer service in the future and identified how it could reduce internal hand-offs and consequently improve resource effectiveness through achievement of "right place, first time" customer service. The program required the redesign of the customer service processes and organization models including resizing, a new management structure and a fundamental change program undertaken over two years that is itself part of a longer - term strategy geared for revenue growth on a recalibrated cost base. At State Bank, the internet now provides customers, major accounts and global accounts access to information, ordering capability and support services. It enables

• On line information requests (responding to questions and requests for literature immediately)

• Catalogs viewing (the ability to access color catalogs and spec sheets while on-line)

• Price quotation

• Provision of payment/shipping information

• Provision of order status and fulfillment information

• Completion of surveys/questionnaires

• Customer e-mail feedback

• Resellers and channel partners access to information, on-line ordering and support services

The benefits to the customer are clear: sales support for customers and resellers; information available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24x7); real-time order taking and order status; and a cost-effective customer feedback channel

QUESTION 1

Discuss the challenges that State Bank had to face with the delivery of e-CRM to its customers

QUESTION 2

Using the criteria that customers use to evaluate a company's channel, discuss how far State Bank has been able to fulfill the needs and expectations of its customers

QUESTION 3

Discuss using the example of State Bank how the three Ws of technology i.e. the Tools for CRM, help in addressing the integration of process, technology and the organization

QUESTION 4

If a decade ago, we had had a greater understanding of the business and organizational dynamics of technology, I think we would now have an even greater payback from our investment in it. In my experience, the new systems that work best are those that are aligned not only with the business but also with the way people think and work. Bob Martin, CEO of Walt- Mart stores

a) Discuss the reasons why many companies are not able to achieve the performance breakthrough even though they have made big investment in technology

b) What according to you are the steps necessary to implement a CRM system solution?

QUESTION 5

(a) Distinguish between functional value and emotional value. Illustrate with examples

(b) Discuss the importance of functional and emotional value in the creation of genuine customer relationships

(c) Loyalty schemes play an important role in relationship development. How far do you agree with this statement?

QUESTION 6

CEOs admit that more money, time, and organisational changes will be required to make the needed transition from product or channel driven structures and tactics to an enterprise wide growth strategy that is truly customer centric. Most competitive customer acquisition and management involves much more than just data mining. Making extensive reference to theories, illustrate the developmental stages of customer acquisition and management processes for creating a customer centric enterprise