A major US bank needed to determine competitive customer service advantages and deficiencies as it expanded its footprint into new markets. Its recent expansion into new markets was a result of an acquisition and the bank needed to quickly size up the competitive landscape, as the bank was competing in the new markets against a bank it did not come up against in other areas.
Confero developed a mystery shopping and mystery calling program in which shoppers visited and called the bank’s branches as well as the nearest competitor branch to inquire about services. In addition, Confero sent customers of the bank, and customers of the competitor, into their respective branches to pose an account issue or question to see how service issues were resolved. The resulting head-to-head comparison illuminated the competitive situation and allowed the bank to zero in on specific service behaviors which would make the most difference in these new markets being served.
