South African Bank installs CRM solution

Standard Bank, the leading South African banking group, has deployed the eFinance suite of customer relationship management (CRM) applications from Siebel Systems.

Using Siebel eFinance, a version of Siebel eBusiness Applications tailored to the specific needs of the financial services industry, Standard Bank's retail banking subsidiary has experienced a 78% increase in its prospect conversion rate. The bank is also cross-selling and up-selling significantly more services with Siebel eFinance to deliver first-class customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Prior to the introduction of eFinance, Standard Bank's retail banking services--including its current and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, credit facilities and other services--were managed and delivered in isolation of one another. The Bank recognized that it needed to overhaul this fragmented strategy to successfully compete in South Africa and abroad. Using eFinance in its call center, Standard Bank has created a single and comprehensive view of its four million retail bank customers. By uniting customer information across multiple points of contact and multiple channels, including the Internet, telephone, and face-to-face, the bank is maximizing revenues and providing unparalleled customer satisfaction.

Using an up-to-the-minute view of the customer, Standard Bank is able to respond more rapidly and effectively to sales opportunities. The consolidated view of the customer has enabled the bank to ensure that all enquiries are managed to the highest standard, regardless of the customer's preferred channel of communication.

"Before we standardized on Siebel eBusiness Applications, our business was data rich, but information poor," according to Gus Warwick, head of direct banking at Standard Bank.

Using Siebel eFinance in the call center has allowed Standard Bank to unite customer information and generate a solid understanding of each and every customer, Warwick said. By knowing more about who customers are and why they choose Standard Bank, the bank can successfully target more prospects, sell more services to existing customers, and build long-term, loyal customer relationships. Based on the success of this deployment, Standard will soon be extending the use of Siebel eBusiness Applications across other divisions.

Standard Bank is the leading banking group in South Africa with total assets of approximately US$33 billion and more than 30,000 employees. The Group provides a broad range of personal, corporate and merchant banking services through more than 1,000 points of representation throughout South Africa, 17 sub-Saharan countries and the key financial centers of Europe, the United States and Asia.