My faith in the successful use of customer relationship management (CRM) has been significantly restored over the past week. On a whim, and because the registration process was so much simpler than that on the bluebean site, I registered at the icanonline site.
The average consumer, faced with effective human implementation of the technology, will provide significant return on CRM investment.
Basheera Khan, Journalist, ITWeb
I embarked on step one of the three-step registration process, only to be almost immediately distracted by something more pressing. I closed that browser window with a mental note to follow up later.
Which I did - and impressively enough, my registration attempt had been cached, and on my return to the site, I was taken to the very page where I`d left off. The rest of the process was accomplished quickly and easily, and within seconds of completing it, I received a barrage of confirmation mails providing me with titbits of information. These objectives are astonishingly easy to accomplish, which is often why I`m so dumbfounded at companies that persist in dropping the ball.
Within 20 minutes of my registration, I was sent an initial confirmation, then a reminder of my username and password, and lastly notification that the account had been opened, and that my card would be delivered by courier; icanonline`s delivery period is within three to five working days.
Sure enough, I received the card three days later, and to my great surprise, the special instructions I`d left on the online registration form had been followed to the T.
In the interim, I have received notification of several hours of downtime, along with information on alternative electronic banking options, as well as a constant stream of communication regarding the status of my account and debit card. I haven`t yet received my PIN, but I`m putting that down to the postal workers` strike.
So, while I haven`t yet made extensive use of the icanonline site, its initial customer friendliness is impressive, and much appreciated. I take my hat off to NBS, M-Web and BoE Bank - long may the initiative continue to satisfy.
Seeing results in the real world
Another smooth and speedy customer service experience over the weekend left me happy that while things aren`t completely perfect, they`re definitely on the road to improvement.
An Edgars initiative to increase its account holder base through an express in-store application and approval process was implemented a few months ago. As a result of apparently effective training, the staff member that assisted me at Edgars Sandton was quick to inform me of the new process, and used my obvious weakness for promotional gifts to lure me into opening a new account.
The process was conducted through the company call centre, and within a cumulative 45 minutes, I had applied for the account and had it approved, received my purchasing card, and spent an absurd amount of money - once again proving that the average consumer, faced with effective human implementation of the technology, will provide significant return on CRM investment.
Now, if only Edgars could whip its online offering into shape.
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