Digital SME Sales Tools Study. CEE 2020

Digital SME Sales Tools • CEE region 2020 2
A
t the end of 2019, the average percentage of newly acquired
customers in the banks in the CEE region via digital channels
made around 20%.
If to compare with some specialized FinTechs (offering online factoring
or invoice finance to SMEs) this percentage was close to 80%. According
to 2Q 2020 results published by the banks in the region, customers’
acquisition via remote channels increased up to 50%, some banks
even declared 100% of SME customers acquisition in remote channels
Preface (like ING Bank in Poland); some banks declared that they stopped sales
campaigns that required customer’s visit to the branches (Santander
Bank Polska).
In general, during latest 3-4 years, in their strategies for Micro and SME
segments, banks were mainly focused on remote end-to-end process for
Micro segment and Sales via RMs to the SME segment, but by giving to
their RMs digital tools (CRM with advanced analytics) to their hands to
understand the needs of the customer and personalize the offer.
As a digital sales process of financial products to the SME segment is becoming more and more relevant, with this Study, we decided to start the annual
reviews of the digital customer acquisition processes and publish here some first examples of such implementations in the CEE region.
Pic. 1. Banks’strategies summery in the area of digitalization of sales to Micro & SME segment
MICRO SME
ImplementaƟon of advanced data
alalyƟcs to provide a full picture
of the customer to RMs
(CRM with advanced alalyƟcs)
Online sales – remote
end-to-end processes for loans
and e-banking campaigns
Development of Virtual RM service
Development of customer’s idenƟficaƟon in remote channels
(voice biometrics & video verificaƟon)
Olena Gryniuk
CEE Regional Director at the SME Banking Club
cee@smebanking.club
PanelDiscussiononthedigitalizationofSalestoolsforSMEsduringtheCEE19SMEBankingClubConference
(Warsaw,October21-22,2019)

A
t the beginning of 2020, Alior Bank, in its Strategy for YY 2020-2022, targeted
the implementation of a state-of-the-art CRM for Retail and Micro segments and
development of remote channels (See Pic.2 and Pic 3.)
Poland
Pic 2-3. Extract of Alior Bank’s 2020-2022 Strategy
Source: Bank’s website: https://www.aliorbank.pl/
Source: Bank’s website: https://www.aliorbank.pl/

In May 2020, ING Bank Poland implemented
for its SME and Corporate customers the
possibility to contact Relationship Managers via
Skype for Business.
Conversations within Skype infrastructure
are end-to-end encrypted, which guarantees
the conﬁdentiality and security of the
communication, as well as chat and transferred
data.
PKO Bank Polski implemented an Online
Advisor service for its business customers via the
Google Meet application. To arrange a meeting
(during working hours) with the Online Advisor,
a customer should ﬁll in a short application
form on the Bank’s website, and after that the
customer receives an SMS or e-mail with the
date and time of the meeting. The solution
was created in cooperation with the Chmura
Krajowa (National Cloud) Operator, in which
PKO Bank Polski is a shareholder.
Online advisor – how to make an appointment
for a video call?
Fill out the short registraƟon from and talk
to our advisor – see what you can ask
We will send you an email to e-mail
address provided with a link to perform
the connecƟon test. Follow the
instrucions in the email and check that
the link works on your hardware.
About 3 minutes before the scheduled
videoconference with the advisor,
we will send you an SMS and an email
asking you to join the meƫng,
with a link to the video call.

T
his year, ING Bank Śląski in Poland
launched Edward — an AI powered
assistant for Relationship Managers.
CASE STUDY
ING Bank Śląski in Poland
uses AI assistant Edward
tedious activities such as setting reminders and
creating notes. Edward also reminds RMs of
tasks to be performed.
Additionally, by automating the data collection
process, it increases use of the system for
managing customer relations.
Edward “appeared” at ING Bank Śląski for the
first time during cyclically organized meetings
with start-ups. However, before ING decided
to implement the solution, an internal pilot
program and research was carried out with
application users — Relationship Managers in
the Corporate Sales Network.
The purpose of the Proof of Concept, which
lasted 1 month, was to investigate two aspects:
business and technical use of the application.
The next step was implementation of the tool
to make the MVP application available to RMs.
40 Relationship Managers took part in the final
pilot of the application.
The research clearly confirmed that RMs need
a tool that will improve their contact with
customers and automate their work with the
existing CRM system, and the integration of
Edward with the CRM system does make it
easier for RMs to manage customer relations.
As of September 2020, Edward is being used
by 195 Relationship Managers in the Business
Banking division thanks to the following
features:
• Integration of Edward with the CRM
• Call monitoring and requests for conversa-
tion status, as well as establishing of follow-
ups by the app
• Transfer of RM data directly to the CRM via
API and its availability on the RM dashboard.
The solution was developed
in cooperation with the Krakow company
2040 Sp. z o.o. (edward.ai)
Whether the application
meets user expectations
possibility to integrate
the application into the
Bank’s systems
correct communication
between phones
and the backend
possibility to run
basic Edward –
CRM integration
Signing of agreement
40 RMs
Tests and IT
Security
13 RMs
Edward is an intelligent assistant in the form of a
mobile application that reduces the time spent
by RMs on manual data entry and checking
information about customer relationships.
Statistics show that 89% of Relationship
Managers do not like to enter data into CRM
systems or carry out reporting.
Edward is a tool that adapts to existing sales
process and makes it possible to automate

I
f we were to describe one FinTech
acquisition process, a good example
comes from a Polish Factoring FinTech
called SMEO.
Their customer acquisition model (See Pic 3.) is
basedononlinesaleschannels(80%ofcustomer
acquisition) using a consistent multichannel
online model and innovative digital marketing,
as well as partnerships (20% of the acquisition).
Creating a consistent, personalized experience
across channels is designed to create a seamless
experience for prospects, so that companies do
Pic 4. Distribution using a consistent multichannel online model at SMEO
Pic 5. Sales process management at SMEO
not get a completely different experience when
visiting different channels.
Looking at the numbers of the SMEO online
Sales Model, we see:
• Coverage on average of 12 million recipients
per month
• Over 110,000 unique users of the SMEO
website per month
• Over 30,000 companies applied for financing
• 30% of traffic on the website is organic
• 67% supported brand recognition among
micro and small entrepreneurs (in December
2019).
On the Pic.4 is the scheme of the process, which
takes place after the customer creates a free
account on the SMEO website and completes
an online application. The procedure below is
intended to support the customer and motivate
them to finish the application at every stage of
the customer journey.
The main results after the implementation of
that process include:
• A 47% higher conversion rate within six
months
• Currently, over 85% of entrepreneurs
complete the initiated process.
CASE STUDY

Romania
I
n 2018, Banca Transilvania launched its
virtual Business Manager called Raul,
which can answer any questions about
the bank’s business products, thereby
engaging entrepreneurs in interactions
with the bank via Facebook and Skype.
It was the ﬁrst chat bot in Romania for
servicing SMEs.
Raul de la BT was eagerly awaited by BT
customers and enjoyed real success. The
numbers speak for themselves: over 9,000
unique users, 130,000 messages sent and
received, and in terms of the type of supported
operations, impressive numbers like 400,000
“account balance” information are only one of
numerous positive outcomes.
Raul de la BT can answer questions on the
following topics from SME customers:
• Current account IBAN in RON or other
currencies
• Current account balance in RON or other
currencies
• Credit card loan installments
• Details about payments, interest rates, loan
fees, exchange rates
• Information about checks, promissory notes,
and deductions
• Number of loyalty points accumulated on the
STAR shopping card
• Details about the UNLIMITED package in the
BT network and its extra options.
Even a call center action can be submitted
through Raul de la BT 😊
“According to numerous studies, people
check their phones every 10 – 15 minutes,
in average 50 times per day. Most of these
actionsarerelatedtomessagesreceivedfrom
family, friends, colleagues, business partners.
We, at BT, always look for convenient ways of
communication with our clients so naturally
we considered investing into a capable
chatbot. For sure a chatbot cannot replace
a complex discussion with a banker (for
example one regarding a loan application),
but it can surely replace every other type of
information request / interaction. Opposed
to the general belief, we think that the ideal is
not to make it more human like but to make
it more eﬀective for daily banking”, — says
Daniel Szekely — SME Executive Director
at Banca Transilvania.
CASE STUDY
As of June 2020,
Raul is also available
inWhatsApp

Hungary
B
udapest Bank is one of the top 8
major commercial banks in Hungary,
providing universal financial services
for both consumer and commercial clients.
The bank has a nationwide network
that consists of almost 100 branches for
consumer clients and 21 SME hubs, with
more than 130 Relationship Managers
(RMs) across the country.
Many trendsetting financial and technological
experts believe that traditional banking services
are a thing of the past. The opening of API
systems in traditional banks enabled the rapid
growth of a new FinTech sector, which became
the biggest competitor of banks on the financial
market. In addition, according to digitalization
research carried out by Hungarian National Bank,
Hungarian banks are not sufficiently digitalized
and cannot implement many innovative
opportunities in their systems. Budapest Bank
realized this fact a few years ago and has devoted
a great deal of attention to this area in its
development strategy. Of course, the challenges
and possibilities of commercial and corporate
CASE STUDY
We saw a very good example of sophisticated CRM implementation in Budapest Bank.
banking are different, but both have to compete
with new players and raise the consumer
experience bar with new innovative solutions.
Corporate business representatives believe
thatpersonalinteractionswillnotdisappear
in the near future. SME banking is based on
strong, familiar relationship management
and deep understanding of the client’s business
model with the aim of providing the best and
most suitable banking solution.
When it comes to digitization, they expect
that artificial intelligence will not replace
SME bankers in the near future, but can
help a lot and is indeed one of the pillars of
the digital transformation. They think of it as a
“lengthened arm of the RM” that can help
in targeting or contacting new clients and
maintaining contacts with existing clients.
Budapest Bank believes that large sales-oriented
organizations can only be managed effectively
if you successfully apply a “fact based” and
increasingly data driven management
approach. This is a long and complex
process and it is as much of a cultural project
as a technical one within an organization, where
gathering and structuring the necessary data is
merely the starting point. Having the data itself
will not get you anywhere, you also need a
strong narrative for how to implement it
and make it a fundamental element of your
corporate culture.
THE GOAL AT BUDAPEST BANK
WAS TO RUN THE BANK’S
SME DIVISION LIKE
A FORMULA 1 TEAM!
Just like in Formula 1, the Bank’s corporate
division heavily invested into the latest data
processing and analytics tools to capture and
visualize all the data across their business.
Their main objective was to know
everything that was happening to
monitor customer journeys and sales force
productivity through the whole business
process so they could interfere, boost
performance, train or share best practices
where necessary. Their concept went beyond
regular sales controlling reports, like deal
pipelines, conversion rates, etc.

MAIN GOALS BEFORE
IMPLEMENTATION
Before they jumped into this complex
project, they laid out very specifically what
expectations they could have from so called
sales telemetry.
Pic 6. Concept and the Features of theTelemetry System
Pic 7. Dashboards of SalesTelemetry System (the monitor is an illustration)
They were aiming at top-to-bottom fact-
based, data-supported governance, utilizing
as many internal and external data sources
as possible in order to deliver high-quality
products and services. They did not want to
provide purely descriptive data but valuable
information and actionable insights so
that they could use their sales resources with
maximum effectiveness. With this method,
they can standardize decisions and actions
based on what the top 10% of their RMs
are doing in certain situations, so that they can
increase sales force effectiveness among
the other 90%.

SERVICE LEVEL
RetenƟon alerts
Cycle Ɵmes
Loan & pricing
monitoring
Delinquencies
PERFORMANCE
KPI’s against targets
Loan balances
New account openings
Revenue generaƟon
CURRENT ACTIVITY
Prospect opportuniƟes
Number of client visits
Sales campaign
statuses
ToDo & Next
Best Offers
Pic 8. Dashboards of Activity, Performance and Service Level through the eyes of an RM
HOW DID THEY REACH
THEIR GOAL?
In order to reach their goal, Budapest Bank built
a custom made Management Information and
CRM system, which they call “Sales Telemetry”
that has become one of the main foundations
of their operations.
Through this telemetry, they collect, layer,
synthetize and distribute all information
across the whole business. A 360-degree
view of all available client data is just one
click away in a very structured way. In-depth
analysis of client transactional habits helps
them “feed” their RMs with valuable client
insights, e.g. potential next best offers,
disloyalty alerts or even suitable entry
points for prospects.
Apart from MIS functions, the solution also
has CRM functions, acting as a“digital arm”
around the RM. The telemetry is able to send
out e-mail messages and summaries (e.g. a
list of important deadlines for the next week)
without the need to log on to the system.
THROUGH THE EYES OF AN RM
BEHIND THE“STEERING WHEEL”
The system has a unique “one-screen” design
that allows us to follow all important data
through one platform with a pyramid
structure. An overview of the most important
data can always be seen on informative
dashboards for each specific business role, and
one can always dig down to the next layer, all
the way down to detailed analytics. This way
RMs can reduce the time spent on reading
data to the minimum.
EverythingononedashboardabouttheRM’s
(i) current activity (like prospect opportunities,
how many client visits they had, different
campaign statuses, what they should do with
differentclients,etc.),(ii)performance(revenues,
loan balances, new account openings, win/loss
accounts, etc), (iii) quality (service level KPIs,
e.g. lending time-to-decision and time-to-cash
cycle times, risk related monitoring to-do’s,
delinquencies, etc).
Right now, this telemetry is sitting on every
RM’s desk and of course on every sales
manager’s desk as well and they are all looking
at the same structure of information, but
on a different aggregation level. Managers see
overall dashboards about the business, team
leaders about their teammates, while RMs only
see their respective portfolio of clients.
PERIOD OF IMPLEMENTATION?
Development was agile and took approximately
2.5 years until it reached its current form. It
was introduced module-by-module, every
solution validated with the RMs, in parallel
with continuous work on data quality and
visualization. Their solution is available on
desktops at the moment, but they are currently
working on mobilization: their “sales telemetry”
is soon going mobile. Budapest Bank will be
among the first in the Hungarian corporate
segment to equip their RMs with tablets, so
all of it will be available on the go, wherever the
RM goes.
HOW DOES THE BANK
MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS?
Budapest Bank thinks that digitalization is
indeed affecting the SME segment, but
RMs are not going to be replaced in the
near future by AI, just like F1 cars will be
driven by pilots for quite some time. But
the way RMs work and the tools they work
with are changing and much will continue to
change in the near future. There are different
ways to address this challenge, and this is
the road Budapest Bank has taken with the
aim of maximizing sales effectiveness and
customer experience.
The numbers speak for themselves. Budapest
Bank has one of the biggest SME portfolios in
the market and in the past few years they
almost always doubled their annual SME
lending growth rate. They are also #1 or #2
in new SME client acquisitions and they are
able to manage more and more clients at the
same excellent service level. Their NPS (Net
Promoting Score) is among the strongest in
the SME segment.

Turkey
G
aranti BBVA inTurkey is also focused
on giving sophisticated tools
to their Relationship Managers,
working with SME customers. The
bank implemented a Smart Visit & Call
Modelization tool to improve both call and
meeting efficiency and accuracy with SME
customers.
Before Smart Visit&Call, RMs were organizing
their visits and calls independently and were
limited to either manual lists they prepared
themselves or customer requests.
Garanti BBVA is the second-largest private bank in Turkey by
consolidated assets (exceeding 486,7 billion Turkish Liras as of
June, 30, 2020). The Bank has been operating under the brand
name “Garanti BBVA” since June 2019 as 49.85% of bank’s shares
are owned by the Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
(BBVA). Garanti BBVA provides services in all business lines,
including payments, retail, corporate, SME, private, and investment
banking.
CASE STUDY
With the Smart Visit&Call Model, which is
embedded in the CRM system, each RM is
supported with tailor-made visit and call lists
where they can see their critical customers,
whom to visit, and for what reason.
Smart Visit&Call mainly includes the following
focus areas:
• Meet the needs of the customer and target
deficits of the RM on the ground.
• Determine the main topics that will be the
focus of the customer during visits or calls.
• Identify products that can be offered to
customers.
• Create parametric areas that can be
intervened by the headquarter to draw the
main strategy with changing conditions.
With active use of the model, Bank has
seen definite improvement in the following
areas:
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Decrease in the number of uncovered
customers
• Increase in the number of active customers
• Increased efficiency in the time that RMs
devote to calls and visits.

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• The information in this report is presented in good faith for general information purposes. SME
Banking Club shall not be held liable for any of the information contained herein.
• This report does not claim to serve as an exhaustive p¶resentation of the issues it discusses
and should not be used as a basis for making commercial decisions. Please approach indepen-
dent legal counsel for expert advice on all legal issues.
© 2020 SME Banking Club. The report is available in electronic form.
www.smebanking.club

Digital SME Sales Tools Study. CEE 2020

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