Changing the Game in Retail Banking and CRM

Changing the Game in 2009

Bankers need to Change the Game in their CRM Approach :

It’s really Time for a T-A-S-T-E-full approach to CRM in Retail Banking

 

In his 1987 work, Changing the Game, Larry Wilson coined the acronym

 T-A-S-T-E. It stands for Trust, Accountability, Support, Truthfulness and Effort.

The work was aimed at sales people and called out the need to “change the game” in multiple contexts of sales as the world was changing. That message was vibrant in those days but resonates with even more clarity in today’s “flat-world” that is defined in many ways by the web and the speed of light.

 

In 1996, Adrian Slywotzky wrote Value Migration, perhaps one of the 10 most important business books of the 90’s. In his book, Adrian demonstrated that one reason why market leaders had lost that lead and with it their market valuation was that they had failed to manage the ever-changing nature of value. “Value” is delivered through an organic whole, “the business design.” “Value”, of course, is a customer-defined concept, however, and one that changes virtually with each transaction a customer, or client, has with your firm. It was the failure of the automotives, companies such as DEC, US Steel and so many others that failed to monitor the change in value and as a result found themselves 180 degrees from their heights and in some cases out of business all together. Value is delivered both to customers, stockholders and internal and external stakeholders through the business design which effectively connects and stays connected to its clientele or customers.

 

In Slywotzky’s original work, and his successive work that build upon the concept he named “the profit zone,” Adrian clearly identifies the primary components of “the business design.” :

 

“A business design is the totality of how a company selects its customers, defines and differentiates its offerings, defines the tasks it will perform itself and those it will outsource, configures its resources, goes to market, creates utility for customers, and captures profit. It is the entire system for delivering utility to customers and earning a profit from that activity.” (pg., 4).

 

Borrowing from Slywotzky and Wilson, we can make some sound observations about what needs to be embedded into successful CRM efforts as well as identify one huge potential for failure. Again, remember that in the overall context of Changing the Game, Wilson was talking about how the very nature of selling has to change. T-A-S-T-E represents 5 core values that must exist in a successful partnership and between and among members of a team.

 

CRM efforts today in essence are a business partnership, a teaming effort between customers and the business. Accordingly, the principles of T-A-S-T-E are essential within the interaction between teams, leadership and their followers and by extension between “us” and out clients or customers. The theme for Wilson, however, was how the “game” is changing for salespeople and organizations that are trying to stay abreast of, and to (the extent they can) anticipate what their customers will need, want and expect: in other words, value

 

To Wilson, T-A-S-T-E requires 100% reciprocality between both parties. When applied successfully there would be between both parties 100% trust, 100% effort, 100% support, 100% truth and 100% effort from both parties. In the context of account management or professional services, the value of this approach both for the team assigned to create and deliver the work as well as for clients more than likely is completely obvious, especially in today’s world. In a customer-based, customer-focused business design, one that effectively uses CRM as its underlying strategy , shouldn’t T-A-S-T-E be a primary principle and guarantee?

 

My simple answer is a resounding “yes!” In other words, in a successful creation and implementation of Customer Relationship Management this acronym has a firm place as a prime operating principle. And, I submit that nowhere does T-A-S-T-E have as necessary a place than in CRM in the retail banking world.