Retail Banking in CEE: Exploiting the Potential of ... - Roland Berger

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MICRO STRATEGIES – ELABORATING SEGMENTATION AND SERVICE MODEL
1/3 of the participating banks have
a detailed strategy including micro
segmentation and service model
MATURITY OF MICRO STRATEGIES – HUGE DEVIATIONS AMONG THE
INTERVIEWED BANKS
If there is a micro head in a bank, this person has his resp. her own detailed view on
micros. In some of the participating banks, however, this person makes up for the
whole micro "department" and often belongs to the SME department.
Moreover, the maturity level of the existing strategies varies significantly from detailed
documents incl. sub-segmentation and service model to some vague ideas of which
sub-segment the bank should focus on (compare fig. 5). Various banks reported that
they were in a phase of micro strategy preparation.
Banks want to differentiate and
compete via service level thinking
that others are weak in understanding
micros' specialties
TARGETED POSITIONING – COMPETITION VIA UNIQUE SERVICE LEVEL
Among the elements of a successful positioning for micro businesses, most of the participating
banks ranked the service level on top. On ranks 2 to 4, there are product,
proximity and price to be found – the latter being mentioned by less than 50% of the
interview partners. Finally, promotion and physical environment are merely also-rans.
Fig. 6: Perceived factors of positioning and weaknesses in the micro segment
Perceived elements of successful positioning
[%]
Perceived weaknesses of banks in the micro segment
[%]
Service (level)
Product
Accessibility/proximity
Price
Promotion
Physical environment –
Design of branches
10
23
53
50
47
77
Long/complicated procedures
Not in focus
Lack of customization
Lack of dedicated personnel
Lack of dedicated products
Poor scoring model
High fees
High risk
Poor reach
Low willingness to lend
Lack of information
25
25
22
22
11
11
8
8
6
6
6
Most frequently mentioned elements
Source: Roland Berger interviews with bank executives