TAMPA, Fla.—In 2004 Charles Schwab began to notice a high level of customer defection, with more than 700,000 customers closing out their accounts that year. Unsure where to turn, it brought back the company’s namesake as CEO.
The old/new CEO immediately observed the company had “gotten away from why it was there,” something reflected not just in the number of ex-customers but in a “Client Promoter” score of negative 34.
Schwab had founded the company around the core value that “only when we listen to our clients and try to see the world through their eyes can we help them achieve their financials goals.”
In his second stint as leader, Schwab espoused that “people will come for price but will stay for service.” The brokerage began a renewed focus on service as a result, and by 2005 its Client Promoter Score was 25 and by the first quarter of 2014 had grew to 46. The result: Charles Schwab has helped lead Charles Schwab back to annual growth.
That case study was offered as part of a presentation at the CUNA Mutual-sponsored “Battle for the American Consumer: A Symposium on Member Centricity” here last week, and was part of a broader message on the importance of listening to customers/members, more popularly known as “Voice of Customer.”
“Credit unions are in a great position,” said Dorothy Leaderer, director of Customer Operations at CUNA Mutual’s Ft. Worth, Texas call center. Leaderer pointed to data showing how highly credit unions rank in perceptions of customer service vs. banks. “Banks would kill for this kind of advantage. So we know it has a strong correlation and it works to our advantage. It’s not just an ethereal advantage, it has tangible advantages. The more loyal the member the higher the spend.”
But what is service excellence? According to Leaderer, it’s providing consistent, excellent service across all products and channels. She urged measuring member satisfaction in a way that is quantifiable and actionable.
That often means recognizing that was “once considered service excellence is now the expectation, or table stakes,” said Leaderer. “What began as a nice-to-have’ is now a must-have.’ ”
Specifically, Leaderer pointed to the 50% decline in branch traffic in 2012 vs. 1994, with online banking hitting a plateau that is now being surpassed by mobile banking.
“The Bottom line is that you may never see some of your best members,” said Leaderer. “So it gives us a compelling case to ask how we can more information on the experiences our members are having.”
