Challenge

Our client’s competitors were aggressively marketing new account-switching services, so we needed to respond by improving the on-boarding experience. Of course, customers don’t change banks very often, so when they do it’s crucial that the initial experience with their new bank is positive. Signing up to their new financial services provider had to be smooth and delightful.

The solution

New ideas were prototyped with stakeholders and end users in a Concept Lab — a test environment for early stage service prototypes. We simulated the new, improved customer journey by prototyping all the new service touch points, from handouts to interior configuration to new web pages. Then we invited customers, advisors and key stakeholders to go through the journey and give feedback. The client was trained to facilitate this process in the Concept Lab, supported by Hellon experts.

The results

Savings

Reduced costs by shelving £4m worth of planned technology investments, as a result of our insights.

Increased revenue

An improved customer experience was delivered, allowing more customers to complete the joining process, doubling the number of meetings advisors could schedule, and increasing recommendation through better customer satisfaction.

Culture change

The new collaborative way of working received praise from senior parts of the organisation, and has led to future projects taking a similar approach from now on.

The process

Hellon challenged the traditional approach within the organisation, which previously avoided exposing staff and management to genuine customer insights. Instead, we used in-depth customer interviews, ideation and prioritisation workshops, ensuring the participation of front line employees and key stakeholders.A number of planned technology investments were abandoned after insights showed they would have missed the mark. Instead, a multi-channel approach was chosen and worked through with a cross-disciplinary team.