by Angela Guess
Bernard Marr recently wrote in Forbes, “RBS has developed a Big Data strategy which it calls ‘personology’ in an attempt to reconnect with customers. The bank, which is currently undergoing re-privatization seven years after it was bailed out to the tune of £45 billion by UK taxpayers during the financial crisis, is combining data analytics with a ‘back to the 70s’ approach to customer service. The philosophy is one of the developments of the 800-person strong analytics department, created as part of a £100 million investment in analytic skills and technology across the organization.”
Marr goes on, “RBS head of analytics Christian Nelissen told me that the move is about restoring a disconnect which developed between banks and customers sometime after the 1970s. The theory goes that early attempts at data-driven marketing – such as audience segmentation and mass mailing were too focussed on what the banks wanted – usually making sales – and often ignored what customers wanted. ‘At some point’, Nelissen tells me, ‘We got to the point where we were just using data we had about our customers literally to get products out of the door’.”
He continues, “The plan is to restore the trust and feeling of support that bank customers would have expected during the 1970s or before – when bank staff would know a customer by name, understand what their needs were on a personal level and attempt to offer services that support those needs. Nelissen says ‘We didn’t just try to sell them products – we tried to help them with their accounts and to get the most out of what we could offer.’ As an example of the new strategy in operation, analysts combed financial transaction data to pinpoint situations where customers may have been paying twice for services packaged with bank accounts – such as mobile phone insurance or breakdown assistance.”
Photo credit: RBS