Surveys of CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives consistently cite growth as either their chief or one of their leading priorities. Growth is also one of the key indicators by which analysts judge companies.
Growth in financial services is being bolstered by the opportunities of demography, emerging markets and ever more innovative products and services. Yet, organisations also face the challenges of mounting competition, more complex regulation and ever more exacting customer expectations. Effective growth strategies are therefore likely to cut across all operating processes and functional boundaries. Key priorities include ensuring that the business model takes full account of customers’ needs, tax, financial and regulatory considerations and the organisation’s capacity to change the way it does business. In turn, the objectives and criteria for success need to be clearly measured.
Winning the battle for growth: Building the customer-centric financial institution, a survey of more than 250 financial services executives carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2006, found that respondents believe that existing customers will be their main source of organic growth. Creating operations that can retain and deliver profits from customers through their lifetime will demand a significant investment in data gathering and relationship management and may therefore require a shift in the prevailing cost-income model. This includes a re-think of training, reward and performance management strategies including a move from volume-based incentives to rewards geared to client satisfaction and the profitability of the customer over the lifetime of the relationship. Success will also require timely and insightful metrics on customers’ evolving attitudes and preferences.
How PwC is assisting financial services organisations
From
outsourcing to
merger and acquisition, product development to territory expertise that spans the globe, PricewaterhouseCoopers has the expertise and experience to help you to plan, articulate and realise your strategy for growth.
Financial Services challenges
