covid19

Hit while the iron is hot

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Covid19 has a tremendous negative impact on the economy so far. However, as all wise people would argue, every coin has two sides. For financial services corporations like Visa, Covid19 has been a main driving force for even wider adoption of card payments and more specifically contactless payments. It seems that contactless payments are indeed on a sharp rise worldwide, especially during the last months. What should financial services companies offering contactless payments do in such an occasion? Should they lay back and enjoy the favorable side effect of a pandemic or ride the wave and try to establish both contactless payments as well as themselves as leaders in this field.

Visa decided to do the latter, and hit while the iron is hot. I noticed the below table tent in a gelateria in the center of Athens. I particularly enjoyed the straightforward messaging (Visa contactless preferred) as it was the shortest message possible, with the brand mentioned first and the word “preferred” serving as a nudge rather than an obligation or an option. The artwork was uncluttered and the placement of the table tent on top of the ice-cream vitrine could not be better. I paid using my contactless Visa.

Well played Visa, well played.

Visa Point of Purchase advertising material

Hit while the iron is hot

Showing you Care, is the Best Customer Care

kskylogiannis, , , , , Leave a comment

There are several commercial stores located on a central street of my neighborhood. On the side of the street where stores windows face southeast, the sun during the summer morning hours is definitely strong and it happens to be no shade whatsoever. A store bathed in light is fantastic… unless you are a poor customer waiting in queue outside of it due to Covid19 precautionary measures.

It was very disappointing to realize that the branches of two banks left their customers waiting in queue under the burning sun. On the other hand, I felt relief when I noticed that the retail store of Vodafone had already set up two large umbrellas outside the store, so that their customers can avoid unnecessary tanning…

Why did the British telecommunications company place the umbrellas, when the banks failed to do so? Is it because of their prior experience with F1 Grid Girls holding umbrellas, or is it because they came up with self-defense umbrellas in India?

I’m just joking… I guess the answer lies somewhere between the three points below:

  1. They have a customer-centric approach, whereas the banks have a process-centric approach
  2. The store manager is empowered to take initiative and the Company is built in such a way where initiatives can be realized in a timely manner
  3. They quickly seize an opportunity, as they understand that a pair of red umbrellas can very well serve as extra branding on a high traffic street

There are many exotic tools for going the extra mile for your Customer… However, you do not necessarily need AI, personalization, Computer Vision and emotion analytics for providing excellent Customer Care…

Demonstrating you care, can prove to be the best Customer Care.

Showing you Care, is the Best Customer Care