As part of Salesforce Live: Benelux 2021, we celebrated some of the most pioneering digital leaders in the region at our first-ever customer awards. In this blog, we look at how NIBC, winner of the Accelerated Digitalisation accolade, rolled out Financial Services Cloud on time and we stayed within budget.
Boosting agility with a superb digital rollout
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020, NIBC is a bank serving more than 400,000 clients (retail and mid-market businesses). With offices in The Hague, Frankfurt, London, and Brussels, NIBC’s 720 employees are focused on putting clients first.
The bank’s retail client franchise has been using Salesforce to achieve this client focus since 2017. So, when NIBC recognised that it needed to digitalise operations within its corporate franchise as well, it turned to Salesforce.
“We need a business model that’s agile so we can adapt to changing customer needs and behaviour and maximise loyalty.”
“To digitally transform the business, we needed a reliable and flexible CRM platform. And if you want to implement CRM, it makes sense to choose the best player in the market – which is Salesforce.”
A digital rollout collaboration built on trust
Amne had a firm idea of what she wanted from the Salesforce deployment. Her key principle in the design, execution, and implementation of Financial Services Cloud was to keep customisation to a minimum.
Amne recognised that by keeping to configuration rather than coding, NIBC will be able to simplify future releases and rapidly take advantage of new features. NIBC also worked with Salesforce Professional Services to deliver on this goal.
“We chose to work with Salesforce for its track record in implementing Financial Services Cloud in Europe, expert knowledge, and experienced people.”
Collaboration was key to the success of the project, especially with COVID-19 meaning that it had to be conducted remotely. But by building a strong team, involving business stakeholders, and with clear governance to enable fast decisions, the project was a resounding success.
“Projects always have challenges, but thanks to the transparent relationship we had with the Salesforce team and the trust between us, we were able to leap every hurdle," says Amne.
As a result, the digital rollout project was delivered on time in just nine months and within budget.
A 360-degree customer view
Financial Services Cloud provides NIBC with lead management, account management, and mobile capabilities while simplifying GDPR-compliance. NIBC's employees now benefit from a 360-degree customer view, powered with artificial intelligence to approach problem-solving in new and smarter ways.
The solution was adopted unit-wide in just three weeks. “We’re seeing an increase in usage all the time. We’ve shown that we can deliver rapidly and successfully, and now people are hungry for more!” says Amne. “Employees keep asking – can we do this next week?”
Leveraging Einstein Analytics and dashboards
Unusually for a first release, NIBC decided to incorporate Tableau CRM (formerly Einstein Analytics) straight away. “I’ve learnt throughout my career that you can have fantastic systems for people to enter data, but it’s what you take out that’s important,” explains Amne. “So, it was vital to me that we included Einstein from the start. It enables us to answer the questions we knew we had – plus those we didn’t know we had before.”
Now, every executive meeting is held using Einstein dashboards.
“Everything’s out in the open – the leader board, the sales funnel – and the level of visibility is completely changing how we work.”
Develop a solid plan before starting a 5-star project
Amne and her team are currently working towards their next major release, which will include bringing in the full customer credit lifecycle to Salesforce and integration with NIBC’s risk management system.
When asked about what tips she’d give to other organisations looking to achieve a rapid Salesforce digital rollout, Amne’s advice is clear: “It helps to take the time to develop a solid plan before you start and put in the work initially to ensure everyone on the team understands exactly what you want to achieve,” she says. “And always lead by example. That means stepping in, getting involved, and being engaged. Don’t leave it to others.”
NIBC was so happy with the digital rollout project that it awarded Salesforce Professional Services a perfect CSAT score. “It was hard work but incredibly rewarding,” Amne concludes. “It’s also been the most enjoyable project of my career.”
Learn more about blazing new trails to richer customer relationships with Financial Services Cloud.
