3.2 Improve management and supervision capacity to ensure mobile banking
3.2.2 Enhance the sale management activity of mobile banking
For an electronic service as Mobile Banking service, creating an simple and easy access to services for customers is the successful key to attract customers.
Especially, in the situation of fierce competition in banking area, VCB need appropriate cross sale strategies to enhance the sale management activity.
The thesis suggests several cross sale methods for Mobile Banking service products.
3.2.2.1 Set out clear objectives for cross-selling staffs:
For market exploration, research and new client building target: VCB require all staff bo be always dynamic in looking for new customers from many different sources and in many different ways. Every months, there must be statistics listing the number and characteristics of new customers.
- Information provision: VCB ask all employees to provide full information about cross-selling products correctly and to remove the problems that customers are facing and need to be settled. No customer complains about the staff when consulting and during transactions.
- On sale: Let customers know the products, believe in the VCB and salesman then decide to use the products and services.
- The implementation of the services after the transaction: The most important thing is to make customer satisfied and trust in the VCB. There is no customer complaining about the product or the attitude of the staff.
- Information collection: All employees in cross-selling forces must have monthly statistics information of existing customers, potential customers and markets, which will be sent to the head of transaction offices. In addition, monthly statistics, which is on current products, new products and business practices of the rivals, especially the Joint Stock Commercial Banks, must submitted to the head of departments or branch directors.
- The contribution of strategies: Staffs must be enthusiastic at work, have a high sense of responsibility, contribute to the cross-selling strategy.
3.2.2.2 Develop strategies for cross-selling force
For the issue of resource allocation, VCB allocate staff in team or individual depending on each situation to have suitable approaching to customers.
- Sales Representative with a client: sales representatives discuss issues with a prospective client directly or indirectly.
- Sales Representative with customer groups: VCB assign one or a group of employees to meet, consult and do transaction with a customer group wishing to use the financial services of bank.
- Sales conference: the sale conference is organized monthly by staffs in cross- selling force.
- Sales workshop: the organization of workshops with clients quarterly about information of VCB, the existing products, new product and possible products in the near future.
3.2.2.3 Develop cross-selling force structure:
-People who work full time for VCB are official staffs. All of them are allocated in branches, transaction offices in economic zones that VCB chose through Vietnam.
Employees in branches, transaction offices of VCB are divided according to their specialization, responsible for one products or a group of products.
- Cross selling staffs who are not VCB official staffs, are important in the success of cross – sale. They are staffs at transaction points of bank’s partners. They introduce, consult about VCB products to customers.
Process of cross-selling
Figure 3.1: Sales Process
(Source: Marketing Management - Philip Kotler)
The first is the exploration and refinement. This step is the detection of prospective customers and partners to participate in cross-selling activities. The cross selling representative should build a target customers. List of target customers can be built in the following ways:
+ Ask existing clients about the prospective customers
+ Take advantage of other reference sources, such as bank‘s partners, associations of industries,...
+ Do research on the data sources (newspapers, directories) to find customers.
+ Use communication tools such as phone call, email, invitation via the Internet.
+ Direct contact with customers and target customer groups.
Cross selling staffs need skills in refining bad customer, basing on their financial
Exploration
and refinement Approach Preliminary
Approach Introduction and Demonstration
Overcoming feedback
Monitor and maintain End of
transaction
capability, demand, wishes,…
The second step is the preliminary approach. Cross selling staffs have to research on the target individual customers and corporations in VCB target customers (what they need, who will make the decision,…). Cross selling staffs need to clarify time, purposes to meet customers and meeting strategy with specific chosen customers.
The third step is the approach. In the first meeting, sale staffs should build sympathy with customers. This problem is related to the appearance, the opening words in meetings, how to communicate with gestures and words.
The forth is the introduction and demonstration step. Cross selling staff needs to introduce about services, products, which can be cross sold according to AIDA model. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. On meeting, cross selling staffs can use other supported tools such as: brochures, product catalogs, statistical tables,…
The fifth step is overcoming customer feedback. Typically, customers often compare banks with each other when using financial services. Therefore, cross selling staffs need to be trained to have skills in making transaction and negotiation.
In the sixth step, transaction comes to the end. In order to end up a transaction successfully, cross selling staffs have to know the signals of agreement of customers and partners. Staffs need to know how to urge them smartly to decide.
Communication and listening skills are very important in this step. VCB should train these 2 skills carefully for staffs.
The seventh step is to continue monitoring and maintaining relationship with customers. When customer have chosen service products, cross selling staffs must continue monitoring and give solutions and advises customers to use more services.
3.2.2.4 Target customers of Telco Led model – Mobile BankPlus
Mobile BankPlus service is the service cooperated between VCB and Viettel, hence, in order to develop services, it is necessary to take advantage of both VCB and telecommunication companies.
The thesis suggests several solutions to develop the target customers using
Mobile BankPlus deriving from sale activities as follows:
- Focusing on customer group, who are staffs of businesses paying wages through VCB:
+ Mobile BankPlus services are considered suitable for mass customer segment, which is lower than the Mobile Banking services (Bank Led Model).
Those are not familiar with high technology, customers, middle-aged people, workers in the industrial zone, the low-income workers, students, farmers, etc.
+ Hence the first step in the work offering Mobile BankPlus widely is focusing on customer group who are paid through VCB. It must be suitable way and fastest way to boost the number of customers using services at the lowest cost.
+ Thanks to the strength of sales staff working directly to customers of Viettel, Viettel and Vietcombank branch will work together to coordinate to sell services, at which staffs of Viettel will approach customers on behalf of VCB.
- Focusing on student group of customers:
+ Since the foundation, Viettel had objective to become cheap mobile network, focusing on medium and low income customers (accounting for 90% of Vietnam population). About customer strategies, Viettel search for new market segments such as: customers who have high demand of answering calls (Tomato package), young customers who like the use of value-added services on mobile phone platform.
+ VCB have been known as a whole saler, however, since 2010, VCB have had strategies to develop retail banking. VCB considers retail banking development as one of 3 main objectives for sustainable development. Therefore, learning from the experience of Viettel in retail market is necessary for VCB.
In 2013, VCB have deployed “Pay tuition fee online” subjected to student customers. However, the approaching schools and students by VCB faces many difficulties.
Therefore, in order to develop BankPlus as well as “Pay tuition fee online”
services, VCB can cooperate with Viettel in approaching and developing by 2 ways.
The first one is to develop end users as students, and the second one is to develop
account relationship and connect with university.
Developing customers as students, VCB must build cooperation relationship with university, and bring favorable programs for students. For example, VCB and Viettel organize student day (music festival, services exhibition,…) with many incentives for students such as account opening, card opening, BankPlus registration,... to attract students.
3.2.2.5 The sales process and customer consulting:
The current biggest obstacle of VCB - MobileB @ nking is that most customers do not know how to use and download the application on mobile devices.
Therefore, the first task is to promote consulting and guidance for customers at the counter.
- Sale staffs need to be fully equipped with tools supporting sale activities.
Each officer who conducts the registration of electronic banking services for customer should be equipped with a mobile device (smart phone or tablet) to proactively display services and make guidance for customer.
- Sales process at bank counter:
+ Step 1: When customer come to banks to perform other transactions, bank staff actively introduce VCB – Mobile Banking services with may superior utilities for customers.
+ Step 2: Customers agree to be introduced about VCB - MobileB @ nking + Step 3: Bank staffs introduce the features of services on mobile devices and
guide customer how to use.
+ Step 4: Customers fill in services application form.
+ Step 5: Officers register services for customers in the system.
+ Step 6: Officers help customers to download the application and activate right at the counter.
Internet sales process: Create a website, which is linked to VCB official website, used specifically for VCB - MobileB @ nking.