Banking on the trust factor...

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Be it debit cards or credit cards, up to the mark pre-sale and post-sale service has kept ICICI Bank ahead of its peers, say Manish K. Pandey and Gyanendra Kashyap

He goes into a huddle first thing in the morning - with his immediate boss that is! His Sales Manager discusses the previous day’s business and allocates him a fresh target for the day. And that’s not all! After every huddle he needs to check his appointment schedule for the day and is out in the field hunting for business by 10am. On lucky days (??), if he has no appointments, he sits at his desk and starts making cold calls to fix meetings with customers. An effort, which again makes him step out of his air-conditioned office and move through the busy streets of Delhi under the scorching sun to meet clients and possible clients across the National Capital Region (NCR).

“An appealing brand name, constructive work environment, an uninterrupted career growth, fixed remuneration and timely reward & recognition are among the few things that keep me going,” reasons this vibrant young Assistant Sales Manager from ICICI Bank’s credit card division placed in Delhi. But then work is really not that easy as it appears. Success in the banking and financial domain is mainly determined by how well the complex products are understood by the customers. And that is the most difficult part of the job.

“Sometimes it’s very hard to convince a customer and get some business out of him,” he tells 4Ps B&M. He recalls one of his most difficult experiences with a customer where he had to convince a customer who did not believe in the concept of a credit card. Moreover, the customer had had a very bad experience with his prior credit card from some other company. His card was stolen and used by someone else but the payment was charged to his account. “So, I explained to him the benefits and features of different cards offered by ICICI Bank and also made him aware of the insurance feature the card had in case it was stolen or lost. However, still he was not interested in paying the annual fee, which the card charged. But, after an hour long conversation I finally convinced him to take the card,” he avers enthusiastically.

In fact, the scenario with one of his colleagues was not very different either. He is another young and dynamic sales manager who handles the clients for ICICI Bank’s another popular service offering, ICICI Bank debit card. Well, ask about his experiences, he says, the basic question that we receive from almost all our clients is that “Why has this deduction been made in my account?” And he believes, this is one question that needs to be handled with utmost patience. He says , “the standard formula is to politely explain to the customer that the debit card facility is not for free and there is a small almost miniscule service charge, which is levied on his account.” “Certainly, people’s trust on the bank helps us a lot to handle the customers,” he further explains.

However, things do not go that easy always. He cites that troubles brew up when there is a serious situation like loss of a debit card and the customer wants a new card issued. “The customers want the process of getting a new debit card to be as quick as withdrawing money from the ATM.” Nevertheless, the employees are well trained to handle such situations and the customers almost always walk out with a smile on their faces. In fact both the executives assert that it is more convenient to deal with a customer within the office premise than in the field because the customer feels more secure in the office as he is sure that the person who’s serving him is an employee of the company. “Generally whenever an employee goes to a customer’s place, the first question a customer asks him is whether he is a permanent employee or just an agent,” states one of the executives. Simply put, the sales manager has to build a bridge of faith between the client and him, before he could actually offer him the services. Ask him what makes ICICI a great service company and he says, “Regular contact with the customer after sales and giving him the services when and where required.” But then, he feels, the icing on the cake is when satisfied customers spread the word of mouth which eventually (and thankfully!) helps him meet his own specified targets. So next time you refer a new customer, don’t forget to ask for your cut ;-)

Manish K. Pandey and Gyanendra Kashyap

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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