In the Digital Excellence Monitor 2017, International Card Services with YourMastercard.nl and ICScards.nl ranks number 1 in the finance sector on both mobile and desktop. In this interview, we speak with Diederik Nijkamp and Marijke Koetsier, both Senior Marketer Consumer Acquisition at International Card Services (ICS). About scrum, optimal organizational setup for excellent customer experience, A/B testing, digital challenges and innovations.
Congratulations to both of you on winning the Digital Excellence Monitor 2017. How do you and your team maintain control over customer experience quality? What do you think are the ingredients for digital success?
Diederik Nijkamp (DN): "We work on this daily. To maintain control over quality with the Marketing & Customer Experience team, we monitor in real-time what customers think of the experience on our websites. This shows us where improvements can be made to the site to deliver an optimal customer experience. We also started setting up a customer panel this year. Thousands of existing customers are represented there, and we ask them for real-time feedback so we immediately know what they think of the digital experience on our recruitment websites YourMasterCard.nl and also on the VisaWorldCard.nl websites. We actively incorporate input from this panel into online adjustments, additions and new propositions."
How do you set priorities for digital?
DN: "When determining priorities, impact is decisive. What impact does solving a bottleneck or adding a change have to make a difference online? We look with the team at the impact for the customer, and also at the internal impact of a change or addition. Based on the prioritization we make together, we put points in the backlog and tackle them."
I see a large board with post-its here in your office. You probably use this for scrum?
Marijke Koetsier (MK): "We work according to the scrum method, with musts, targets and nice to haves. Based on this division, we plot everything that needs to change, what the goals are and what nice to haves are. The basis for success is quick switching. If we want something changed, we can adjust it the same day and put it live immediately."
DN: "A/B testing is in our DNA. We've always done this with a partner where, in addition to conducting tests, we also look closely at persuasive techniques in website copy and USPs, but also at convenience. We were happy to see that reflected in this Digital Excellence Monitor: respondents indicated that with a limited number of clicks you very quickly gain insight into the benefits of our credit cards. The A/B tests have also contributed to this. We look carefully at 'what is the prospect looking for at what moment in their customer journey', and then we deal with that online in a smart way. We chose a mobile-first approach because we see that the number of mobile users looking for a credit card is growing very fast. At the moment we see that mobile, and I include tablet use in that, is moving toward 50%."
Yet you're probably working on your desktop all day, how do you keep looking at your mobile page?
DN: "We're real Apple fans, we all have an iPhone. We grab our mobile throughout the day to check whether the mobile flow is correct. The challenge with a responsive site is that everything comes to stand nicely under each other and that you entice users to keep scrolling... and at the same time the experience and offering must remain manageable."
MK: "Last year we made a major optimization based on A/B testing. We started in October with WorldCard.nl and then with YourMasterCard.nl. In that, we mainly focused on tablet and mobile use. We adjusted the entire website in terms of look & feel. There was a completely new photography session and we used those photos for the new website with which we also won this WUA prize."
DN: "Interesting to mention is that in addition to optimizing websites based on A/B testing, we also recently adjusted our marketing approach. Where in the past we used a fairly action-oriented marketing approach, this year we chose to create more storytelling campaigns. In doing so, we look much more at the usage moments of the credit card and the product benefits. We've put that into one story."
Which A/B testing platform do you currently use?
DN: "We use Visual Website Optimizer, Hotjar and Usabilla. First we worked with an agency but now that we do it ourselves we take steps faster. We have a new customer experience team and work closely with a digital analytics team. With those departments we look at how we can bring A/B testing and the technology required for it more in-house."
MK: "Maybe in the future we'll use an agency again to advise us on main lines, but what's important is that we build the capabilities ourselves."
What plans do you have for the future, what digital innovations are in the pipeline?
DN: "If you look purely from acquisition, we see that the market is developing faster and faster. The holiday period is really a moment to apply for a credit card given the worldwide payment convenience and the insurance attached to it. What you often see is that customers decide which credit card they want a week before departure. The challenge is then to process that application completely digitally, settle it and then ensure that the piece of plastic, which is currently still sent by post, reaches the customer on time. All within five working days. We've even stated a purpose that you should be able to be onboarded within five minutes at ICS. That means the application, acceptance and receiving of the digital credit card should be completed within 5 minutes. You then already have your card number and can immediately start making online payments."
MK: "Paying online with your fingerprint will become very normal in the future, we also did a test with paying via a fingerprint or facial recognition. Soon you probably won't need a card for purchases in the store either..."
DN: "We've also given our apps a new look, we switched to a new framework. We can now service all channels from one system and unlock that data. Ultimately, we want to promote the self-reliance of our customers with the app. Now you see that in the app the bill can be viewed and payments can be made. We're working on processing an iDeal approach in the app, with which you can make real-time payments and thus pay off your outstanding balance faster. That's really handy when you're abroad and the car rental deposit is too high, preventing you from making payments with your credit card."
What does the setup of your (digital) teams look like? What changes or additions were/are needed to achieve digital results?
DN: "Within ICS we have different clusters. Marketing falls under the Customer & Market cluster, as do the Customer Experience and Customer & Market Analytics departments, where digital analytics is well represented. We also have a Sales department, which mainly deals with new business but also with our existing strategic partners, with whom we issue co-branded cards, such as Bijenkorf, ANWB and ABN AMRO (which is also our parent company). We also have a Corporate Communications & Branding department. We also have a team of specialists in marketing, such as database marketers, campaign managers, content specialists and marketing support. Together we know what's going on in the customer and how we can optimally respond to that with Customer & Market. We do as much as possible in-house together."
And what lines run from your teams to management?
MK: "Under the Customer & Market director there are 5 teams and each team has a manager. We report to the manager and thus indirectly to management. And regularly we come to the management table to present what we do."
DN: "Management also wants to have more contact with the floor. Precisely because the market is changing so fast, especially for payments. They like having acquisition marketers like us present what the trends are among our customers in a management meeting."
What are your biggest challenges in customer experience?
MK: "Those currently lie in the onboarding process. Not everyone who applies for a credit card is immediately approved. First, any registrations are checked with the BKR, and your income and any debts are also checked. It's our duty of care to do that, but we can still make optimization steps there. Based on the personal situation, we need to offer the right credit card."
DN: "The challenge is that we want to be able to manage customer expectations early, preferably before or during an application. A customer then immediately knows whether they qualify for a credit card, and what additional evidence we need to onboard the customer as quickly as possible. Internally we get an application scoring: we can use this to assess in real-time based on a certain dataset which products someone qualifies for. Based on the choice the customer makes, there must be a digital follow-up path that clearly indicates what we need from the customer. The challenge is to set that up completely digitally and the biggest challenge lies in alignment between the business and the IT department. How do we ensure that those two departments speak the same language and that time-to-market is as short as possible?"
At which company or organization have you recently had an excellent (digital) customer experience? What did you learn from it?
DN: "I recently had the plan to go to Reims for a weekend with my girlfriend. Then of course the big question is: which hotel do you book? This time I went to Booking.com again. I found it very nice at Booking.com that they recognized me during the orientation process based on a previous booking and then made nice offers through multiple channels, they really inspired me with different hotels in Reims.
"The email I received from Booking.com was more playful but contained nice suggestions for hotels. I was triggered for a repeat visit and to book something at Booking.com, which I eventually did via the app. Why? I have an iPhone, with a large screen and it goes very fast. My credit card was already pre-filled so I could pay quickly. And the nice thing is that when you pay with a credit card, only a reservation is made. If the booking goes through, the costs are charged, and if it doesn't go through, it's taken off your card again without costing you money."
MK: "A nice example in financial services I think is Brand New Day, and especially the communication during the entire orientation and purchase process. I bought annuity insurance there a few years ago. It went very smoothly. What I like about the customer journey is that they knew how to trigger me at the right moment, for tax benefit or something else. The communication around it is done in a very nice and light way that really appeals, with beautiful and compelling examples."
DN: "I also like Zalando's approach. In the Zalando app I had put sneakers in my wishlist that were premium priced. A few months later I got a push notification that they had dropped significantly in price and whether it was still something for me. That meant in my case that I got 50% discount."
Which consumer trends in the industry are high on your agenda to respond to?
MK: "Biometric authentication and logging in with your fingerprint. We tested facial recognition for payments last year, but you see that people prefer a fingerprint. People found it weird to see themselves because you're not allowed to laugh, you have to look serious."
DN: "In the Netherlands you see more and more parties emerging that help customers with pay-later at the point of sale, like AfterPay and Klarna. When you order something online and it's delivered, you still have a few days to pay the bill. In that intermediate period, having the product at home basically costs nothing and you can still return it if you don't like it after all. That's a trend and the big question is what other repayment propositions we at ICS can think of in the coming years to respond to that growing need for pay-later. In addition to what we already offer with our credit cards, of course."
