Bankinter questions
Internet Customer Acquisition at Bankinter
Class Discussion Questions
At the time that this case was written in early 2003, electronic banking or e-banking was something that was immediately familiar to all banking clients, regardless of age, socio-economic status or location. All banks have embraced the Internet, despite the dot.com implosion for the simple reason that e-banking costs are substantially less that the costs of servicing clients’ needs through other banking channels. The challenge for banks (including Bankinter) is customer acquisition and by implication customer retention. The fact that it is relatively easy to switch accounts from one bank to another has meant that while IT can facilitate customer lock-in, it can also foster disloyalty. Accordingly, banks have turned to a new type of application called customer relationship management (CRM) to learn more about their existing customer base and to identify who, among non-customers, might be worth targeting.
Please read through the following questions and be prepared to discuss your answers in class. Before class, please ensure that you are familiar with Bankinter’s website: http://www.bankinter.com (an English language link is available at the top of the homepage).
1. How has IT helped or hindered Bankinter’s customer acquisition strategy? If you were in charge of a small community bank, how might you use IT to steal market share from the bigger retail banks? (Hint: think about what HSBC, ING and Emigrant Bank have been doing recently).
2. Bankinter thought about becoming a pure-play e-bank but decided not to go that route and to instead leverage their physical presence to become a bricks and clicks bank. What are some risks that pure-play e-banks face that hybrid banks can avoid?
3. On p. 3 of the case, the author notes that the bank is starting to measure profitability for each product and for each customer. This concept is very close to what marketing folks call customer
Class Discussion Questions
At the time that this case was written in early 2003, electronic banking or e-banking was something that was immediately familiar to all banking clients, regardless of age, socio-economic status or location. All banks have embraced the Internet, despite the dot.com implosion for the simple reason that e-banking costs are substantially less that the costs of servicing clients’ needs through other banking channels. The challenge for banks (including Bankinter) is customer acquisition and by implication customer retention. The fact that it is relatively easy to switch accounts from one bank to another has meant that while IT can facilitate customer lock-in, it can also foster disloyalty. Accordingly, banks have turned to a new type of application called customer relationship management (CRM) to learn more about their existing customer base and to identify who, among non-customers, might be worth targeting.
Please read through the following questions and be prepared to discuss your answers in class. Before class, please ensure that you are familiar with Bankinter’s website: http://www.bankinter.com (an English language link is available at the top of the homepage).
1. How has IT helped or hindered Bankinter’s customer acquisition strategy? If you were in charge of a small community bank, how might you use IT to steal market share from the bigger retail banks? (Hint: think about what HSBC, ING and Emigrant Bank have been doing recently).
2. Bankinter thought about becoming a pure-play e-bank but decided not to go that route and to instead leverage their physical presence to become a bricks and clicks bank. What are some risks that pure-play e-banks face that hybrid banks can avoid?
3. On p. 3 of the case, the author notes that the bank is starting to measure profitability for each product and for each customer. This concept is very close to what marketing folks call customer