A Company That Is Distinctive

first direct Bank (part of HSBC)

Below are a selection of points that go to show why they are one of the most successful and distinctive banks in the UK:

• According to MORI and NOP research, first direct has been the most recommended bank in the UK for the past 13 years
• According to MORI and NOP research, first direct has had the most satisfied customers of any UK bank for the past 13 years.
• someone recommends first direct every 5 seconds, in fact, more than 1 in 3 of first direct's customers join because of personal recommendation
• first direct completes 10,000 Automatic Bill Payments every day - the error rate is zero
• the average age of first direct's customers is 43
• the average age of first direct's employees is 33
• first direct sends 1 text message every second to its text message banking customers
• someone telephones first direct every 2.5 seconds, night and day, 365 days a year
• someone logs on to first direct's internet banking every second
• first direct receives a customer email every 30 seconds
• first direct has 1.2 million customers
• 840,000 of them use internet banking
• 460,000 customers use SMS text message banking. first direct is the largest text messaging bank in the UK. It sends around 3.5 million text messages to customers every month
• 40% of first direct's sales are via e-channels
• 75% of customer contact with first direct is electronic
• first direct handles around 235,000 telephone calls every week
• first direct takes over 13,000 calls a day outside working hours
• first direct takes over 500 calls a day from abroad
• first direct has been in profit every year since 1995
• customers always speak to a real person, not a machine
• first direct talks to customers openly and in an adult to adult manner, with simple and straightforward communications
• first direct's people are recruited for their natural communication skills - technical banking skills can be learned
• first direct's people are empowered and encouraged to make every contact with customers enjoyable and rewarding
• empowerment leads to highly motivated people and better customer satisfaction
• training reinforces functional skills and individual customer focus
• communications forums focus on knowledge sharing and customer service
• core values are fundamental to internal and customer relationships
• first direct's customers are money rich but time poor
• 74% of them are in employment
• although they are busy they like to stay in control of their money and convenience is a high priority
• they are young - the majority between the ages of 25 - 54
• they are financially confident and will shop around to find financial products that suit them best
• they are early adopters of new technology - 62% use the internet.

Source: first direct

First direct do not obviously suit everyone, that is not their strategy. Their strategy is to suit their target market, better than anyone else.  Distinctiveness in action.

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