REFLECTION - LEARNING LAUNCH

CHALLENGE:

I am a Loan Officer and a Marketing Representive at a rural branch for one of the largest commercial banks  in my country. My challenge is marketing our Cash Secured loan product to customers who have existing  savings accounts with balances that qualifies them for the product and we decided that the best way to do  this was via the telephone. This product entails lending customers for any specific purpose by holding the  cash in their account as collateral. There has been a decline in this product and management has requested  that more emphasis be placed on it since there is little to no risk involved in this type of lending. The scope  of the project includes the Loan Department which consist of four (4) staff who are also the Marketing  Representatives of the branch and also the IT Department who will be gathering the data (e.g. name of  customers, account balance, occupation and telephone numbers) from the core banking system. The project  should not exceed more that 10 days and is limited to internal resources. We will try to reach out to as many  eligible customers as possible and try to perceive how effective this method has proved to be.

SELECTION:

Our team has unanimously decided that the best design thinking tool to use for this project is the learning  launch tool since this is an experiment meant to quickly and inexpensively test an idea and prototype so as  to gather market-driven data to determine whether a growth idea has enough merit to warrant detailed  investigation with the commitment of further time, people and resources.

APPLICATION:

Using the learning launch tool, our team allocated two hours each day to contact customers via the telephone  using the data gathered by the IT Department. We targeted family oriented persons and persons of the  working class. Before actually commencing the project the team was given a few hours of training on  Telemarketing where we were reminded of basic telephone etiquette and a brief description and benefits of  the product that was to be marketed. This prepared us for any situation that may arise and to answer any  questions the customer might have.

Once this was completed, the team began testing their daily reach out to potential borrowers. Approximately  15 persons were contacted everyday and all details of the product were summarised and given to the customer.  It was amazing how many were interested and actually completed the application for consideration. Many  also acknowledged how effective the outreach service is as they were unaware that the bank even offered  such a loan product.

INSIGHT:

By applying the Learning Launch tool our team was able to effectively sell our product and this has greatly  benefitted both the bank and its customers. Upon completion of the project the Cash Secure Loan portfolio  increased by 26%, which was remarkable. Due to its success, the new method of marketing was adopted by  other branches and has also proved to be very efficient. We were able to learn that the customers really  appreciate the bank reaching out to them individually.

APPROACH:

This was our team's first approach to design thinking and the learning launch tool has help us effectively  completed our task. However, although the launch tool was effective for this particular product more has to  be done to market our other products and here we will attempt the Visualization tool as this will involve a  wider range of products.


REFLECTION - LEARNING LAUNCH CHALLENGE : I am a Loan Officer and a Marketing Representive at a rural branch for one of the largest commercial banks in my country . My challenge is marketing our Cash Secured loan product to customers who have existing savings accounts with balances that qualifies them for the product and we decided that the best way to do this was via the telephone . This product entails lending customers for any specific purpose by holding the cash in their account as collateral . There has been a decline in this product and management has requested that more emphasis be placed on it since there is little to no risk involved in this type of lending . The scope of the project includes the Loan Department which consist of four ( 4 ) staff who are also the Marketing Representatives of the branch and also the IT Department who will be gathering the data ( e.g. name of customers , account balance , occupation and telephone numbers ) from the core banking system . The project should not exceed more that 10 days and is limited to internal resources . We will try to reach out to as many eligible customers as possible and try to perceive how effective this method has proved to be . SELECTION : Our team has unanimously decided that the best design thinking tool to use for this project is the learning launch tool since this is an experiment meant to quickly and inexpensively test an idea and prototype so as to gather market - driven data to determine whether a growth idea has enough merit to warrant detailed investigation with the commitment of further time , people and resources . APPLICATION : Using the learning launch tool , our team allocated two hours each day to contact customers via the telephone using the data gathered by the IT Department . We targeted family oriented persons and persons of the working class . Before actually commencing the project the team was given a few hours of training on Telemarketing where we were reminded of basic telephone etiquette and a brief description and benefits of the product that was to be marketed . This prepared us for any situation that may arise and to answer any questions the customer might have . Once this was completed , the team began testing their daily reach out to potential borrowers . Approximately 15 persons were contacted everyday and all details of the product were summarised and given to the customer . It was amazing how many were interested and actually completed the application for consideration . Many also acknowledged how effective the outreach service is as they were unaware that the bank even offered such a loan product . INSIGHT : By applying the Learning Launch tool our team was able to effectively sell our product and this has greatly benefitted both the bank and its customers . Upon completion of the project the Cash Secure Loan portfolio increased by 26 % , which was remarkable . Due to its success , the new method of marketing was adopted by other branches and has also proved to be very efficient . We were able to learn that the customers really appreciate the bank reaching out to them individually . APPROACH : This was our team 's first approach to design thinking and the learning launch tool has help us effectively completed our task . However , although the launch tool was effective for this particular product more has to be done to market our other products and here we will attempt the Visualization tool as this will involve a wider range of products .