It’s nice to see you in Niceville!
Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is a metric that helps companies understand customer satisfaction and gauge customer brand loyalty. As metrics go, it’s a relatively simply one that calculates customer responses to the question, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?".
While the resulting score is based on a formula, the path to a high NPS is anything but formulaic, and involves people dedicated to having a one-on-one relationship with customer. You might say being nice is one key component. Which is why it makes sense, that at BBVA Compass, one of the top performing branches in NPS across all 645 is located in a town called Niceville, Florida.
Manley: We work hard to create the right atmosphere for our customers, and a high NPS is a byproduct of that.
“We get that a lot,” chuckles Niceville BBVA Compass Branch Retail Executive Valerie Manley. “But, name aside, we were surprised that we had such a high NPS, because we weren’t going for that. We work hard to create the right atmosphere for our customers, and a high NPS is a byproduct of that.”
For Manley and her team, creating the right atmosphere includes calling the hundreds of customers they see each week by their names, or remembering at least some of their story so coming into the branch feels personal, no matter the transaction.
“If someone comes in needing a $2,000 loan to fix their truck, we treat them the exact same way as someone who comes in to ask about our CD rates with $500,000 to deposit.” she said. “Regardless of what type of money they bring to the bank, their needs are important. What is most important to them needs to be what is most important to us.”
Manley credits her team for cultivating this atmosphere, saying that the team holds each other accountable for the small things - like remembering names or understanding social cues - even doing on the spot coaching with each other when customer interaction has concluded.
“We respect each other - never do we allow disrespect among the team,” she said. “This positive, engaged atmosphere flows to the customer."
BBVA Compass Branch Retail Executive Valerie Manley (left, back row) and the Niceville, Fla. branch team.
BBVA Compass District Retail Executive Doug Wood says that Manley’s team embodies the bank’s value of “Customer Comes First.”
Wood: Valerie and her team make a sincere effort to let their customers know that BBVA Compass is their bank and their feedback matters.
“Valerie and her team make a sincere effort to let their customers know that BBVA Compass is their bank and their feedback matters,” said BBVA Compass District Retail Executive Doug Wood. “Their opinion is important to the team, and they request it on little things - like asking them to cast ballots on the best decorated pumpkin at Halloween - and big things, such as wanting to know that the customer is always pleased with the bank’s products and how they are served.”
Manley says a team atmosphere is key to building branches that customers want to come into time and again, indicating that everybody being willing to pitch in assures the customer that the entire team has their best interest at heart.
“It’s not below anyone’s pay grade to help a customer in any way they need,” she said.
Below are some tips from Manely on cultivating a Customer First atmosphere:
- Pay attention to how your customer likes to be addressed
- Talk to your customers about themselves.
- Treat everyone with the same respect and give everyone the same level of attention.
- Be part of the community by volunteering.
- Address any customer issues immediately.
- Surprise customers when they least expect it.
- Always tell your customers where you are in a process by the end of the day, even if it’s just to let them know you’re still working on it.
- Set realistic expectations with customers at the onset for the time something will take or what additional items may be needed.
- Smile.