A.60%
Rabobank could really
make Belgium a second
home base
its online services
and product 9
IDB
WANT HIGH
INTERESTO
SAVINGS?:
JL
YES
WITH
W NOSTRINGS?
ÜS]=Ï
RaboPlus .Cl
YES
VISIT
Stephane Vermeiren GM Rabobank, be)
that would get lost in a larger set-up. In Ireland we were
voted Best Retail Bank in 2007, a major achievement for
a bank that doesn't have any branches. There are still
opportunities in the market, as long as we look for genuine
unique selling points. In the current fïnancial climate, we
are seeing a flight to safety, to name one example. Our
online banks are attractive to those customers, thanks to
Rabobank's triple A status."
New products and additional services are also a way to
capitalize on an existing customer base and make an online
direct bank more attractive to new customers. Gert Bouwman
believes that the four operational Rabobank Direct Banks offer
great potential for cross-selling, as market research shows
high customer satisfaction and excellent loyalty scores,
substantially higher than any of the competing online
banks. To further improve cross-selling the direct banks also
invested in a sophisticated marketing database and campaign
management systems, plus training and education. The big
challenge, however, is to add new products and services
while maintaining a low-cost structure.
An example of local development for local initiatives
is Bizner, a direct bank based on innovative market
segmentation. This online business bank was built with
no-strings attached to existing Rabobank activities. "We
studied the opportunity as if we were a foreign bank,"
explains Gert Bouwman. "We asked ourselves how a market
challenger would approach the market segment of small
and medium enterprises, and opted for a set of no-frills
banking services undera new label. International Direct
Banking coordinated the development, and now Bizner is
attached to Rabobank Netherlands. We believe Bizner has
international potential, but that is currently being evaluated."
SHALL WE REPEAT
THE QUESTION?
AND BACKED BY THE
WORLD-SSAFEST
PRIVATE BANK?'
Help yourself
An advertisement example of RaboPlus Australia.
Stephane Vermeiren thinks the Bizner approach would work
in his country, as there are almost half a million independent
entrepreneurs in Belgium. "For the moment though I think
we should focus on lower hanging fruits. There are other
opportunities that can be explored fïrst. Our customers are
screaming for other products and services, and we would
like to add simple investment products and perhaps even
brokerage services to our portfolio. Our existing market and
customers present enough challenges and opportunities
that we can harvest first."
Greg McAweeney sees similar opportunities in Australia. "We
are focusing on product and distribution strategies across the
investment product range. Our online banks could implement
web tools to deepen our interaction with and enhance our
relevance for customers. This will be particularly important for
RaboPlus Australia, as superannuation is compulsory here and
the investment market is complex and competitive."
Stephane Vermeiren, General Manager Rabobank.be.
THE WORD