Better together: Financial giants unlocking new opportunities
Česká spořitelna (ČS) and the Kooperativa insurance company – key players in the Czech financial sector – have been cooperating at the group level for a long time. Our joint project aimed at verifying the potential of selling ČS personal accounts through Kooperativa’s sales representatives. We were trying to find a legally and operationally functional business model and a solution that would benefit both parties commercially. Last but not least, we wanted to provide clients and sales representatives with a service that would have long-term impact.
This is how we do it
As part of the discovery phase, we launched three streams. We conducted in-depth interviews with Kooperativa’s clients to explore what financial services they use and whether Česká spořitelna is attractive to them as a bank, or how they perceive it. In the second stream, we focused on Kooperativa’s sales representatives. The aim was to find out how the sale of ČS banking products in Kooperativa works. We asked sales representatives what they generally think about it and under what conditions the sale makes sense to them. In the last phase, we built a legally functional model for the actual sale of products.
Based on our knowledge and legal analysis, we came up with the concept of account proposing. Kooperativa’s sales representatives do not directly sell ČS’s banking products, but only mention the possibility of obtaining a ČS account on exclusive terms with a number of financial and non-financial benefits.
Win-win cooperation
In the autumn of 2021, we launched a pilot version of the project at four Kooperativa agencies and trained more than thirty sales representatives. After a successful trial version, the project is now being prepared for implementation in the entire Kooperativa sales network. The success is all the greater because the Czech Republic is the first market where such cooperation between the two companies is being implemented.
„Česká spořitelna and Kooperativa have been strategic partners and market leaders in the field of bancassurance for many years. However, this initiative gives the cooperation a completely new dimension. It allows insurance company clients to use the benefits of daily banking in a very simple way. Not only the current account, but also mobile banking George, in which they have more and more control over both ČS and Kooperativa products. Everything in one place, according to your needs. Thanks to the cooperation with Direct People, it is not just an expansion of the insurance company’s offer with accounts, but the creation of an attractive joint proposition based on client insights and needs. The key metrics are not only profitability, but also customer satisfaction, perceived value (value for money) and financial health of clients.”
Petr Pluháček, Product owner in Česká spořitelna
About Česká spořitelna
Česká spořitelna is a banking institution with the longest tradition in the Czech Republic. It is also the biggest with more than 4.6 million clients. It offers its services to individuals and SMEs as well as towns and cities. It also finances big corporations and offers financial consulting. Since 2000 Česká spořitelna is a member of a strong international Erste Group.
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