dbix Solution Strengthens Citibank’s Sales Capabilities

Special Focus: Armed and ready
In the banking industry, Citibank Bhd is a good example of a player that has embraced the mobile workforce concept. It has equipped its sales team with the right tools to use technology while on the road, thus enabling them to provide up-to-date information to customers. Raymond Choong, head of marketing and sales at Citibank, talks to netv@lue2.0 on this initiative.

netv@lue2.0: How many of Citibank's employees use technology tools when out in the field? What are some of those tools, and do you provide them with sufficient training?
Choong: We believe the achievement of total customer satisfaction begins with customers' exposure to our sales professionals. Therefore, we endeavor to give our sales professionals all the necessary tools that will help them achieve this end. This is particularly because we have a limited branch network. Despite this, we are proud to still maintain our market leadership position in credit cards. We are also a significant lender of mortgage loans in this market. We have over 1,000 card sales executives nationwide, fully trained to offer Citibank credit cards and home loans in key market locations. To further strengthen our sales capabilities and reach out to potential consumers, Citibank recently collaborated with HP and DBIX System. About 400 of our mobile sales executives are now equipped with the eCMS (electronic contact management system) PDA with a customised software that enables them to schedule, monitor and track the applications submitted as well as receive up-to-date information on Citibank's credit-card promotions. Our sales professionals can effectively communicate to our customers the benefits and privileges of being with Citibank.

Not many Malaysian companies seem to want to use technology for their mobile workforce but Citibank seems to be different. Why?
Citibank embraces technology as seen in our push for online banking. We are known as an innovative bank, and rightly so because we are committed to the introduction of unique and industry-leading products and services. Equipping our sales force with eCMS is only one of the many innovations at Citibank. We aim to be proactive and accessible to the customer. We want our products to remain top-of-the-mind. Ultimately, we want our customers to keep saying "Wow!".

Do you find that with the use of these tech tools and with the right training and mindset, your sales and support staff in the field is more productive and efficient?
Citibank is a consumer-centric bank. We constantly innovate to meet the financial service needs of the consumer. To further improve our sales and service delivery, we have empowered our card sales executives with the use of eCMS PDAs so that they can continue to reach out to consumers fast and access critical information even faster and make informed business decisions. The eCMS PDA is certainly a much faster and more accurate means of acquiring information compared with the mobile phone.

The Edge Daily.com
27 July 2004