Telstra aims to close online gap with rivals. Telstra's online self-service is catching up with industry peers and other large businesses, with the launch of a new account portal this afternoon. The company admitted earlier this year its online services were lagging behind other large businesses, with only 3 per cent of Telstra customer transactions carried out online compared with 60 per cent of transactions for banks and airlines. Its main competitors in the mobile sector, 3, Vodafone and Optus, have also led Telstra with online self-service facilities. Telstra aims to get at least 35 per cent of customer transactions online - effectively increasing the portion online by a factor of 10, according to executive director of Telstra Digital, Gerd Schenkel.
Advertisement "It is not so much a forecast than a stated goal for the company that we are rallying behind. The new portal was built from scratch in recent months and is faster and offers more services than earlier versions of Telstra online accounts, he added. lbattersby@theage.com.au. Telstra Master of Robotics. Unwire: Gerd Schenkel says he wants to make it easier for customers to navigate Telstra's website. Picture: Alan Pryke. Source: The Australian HIS name is Gerd and he's here to help.
That's the impression Telstra and its new head of digital, Stuttgart-born Gerd Schenkel, are hoping to achieve as the lumbering telco pursues a strategy perfected by the banks -- of increasing online transactions and improving customer service. It would seem a relatively simple brief, and the Masters in Robotics Schenkel admits there isn't that much rocket science to the task. Telstra's main website receives more than 3 million unique visitors a month, but it only manages to complete just over 10 per cent of online transactions successfully. Given it has 10 million mobile users and 7 million fixed-line customers, Schenkel is the first to concede a lot of work is needed.
"Customers are attempting to use it (the website)," he says. "We can't afford to rebuild the entire site and do the grand launch. Telstra to Launch Customer Service App. “You are currently the 25th caller in line. Your call will be answered in the next 30 minutes.” Telstra customers hoping to avoid these types of customer service calls may soon have the remedy, thanks to a new mobile device app. The telecommunications giant is reportedly developing a beta version of an iPhone customer service application, The Australian reported this week. The app is set to be launched by year’s end and will be available on Telstra mobile devices and tablets.
It will mainly serve as a portal to meet customer needs like billing, tracking spend or usage and locating stores. READ RELATED STORIES FROM THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK * Google Docs App Introduced on Android * Samsung and Google Introduce Chromebook * Ergon Energy Hopes to Save Millions with Google Tool * Read the latest edition of Business Review Australia! The app has been developed around feedback from customers, who have asked for simple tools like a store-locator service.
Telstra announces first 'online' products. Telstra has released a range of mobile plans saying they "follow the creation last month of Telstra Digital, a new business unit to expand expand Telstra's online self-service offerings. " Telstra announced in February that it would create a new online customer service unit within Telstra Consumer that will "design and operate online self-service platforms that give customers the option of performing many transactions with Telstra online using their computer or mobile devices, rather than speaking to agents over the phone.
" It is being headed by Gerd Schenkel who joined Telstra from UBank, an exclusively online bank established by the National Australia Bank. Commenting on the new plans, Schenkel said nine out of ten Australians preferred making simple transactions on their PC or mobile phone, rather than in person or over the phone and it was important to have packages available to meet their needs. " Avoid War Room Scenarios and improve handling of critical application problems:
Cash still king for cautiously optimistic self managed super funds. Telstra readies mobile customer service app. Telstra is working on a beta version of an iPhone customer service app. Picture: Sam Moody Source: DailyTelegraph TELSTRA is working on a beta version of an iPhone customer service app it hopes to launch by the end of the year.
It is also preparing to build a relationship with Facebook to allow customers to seamlessly log on to the Telstra site. The moves follow the overhaul of its My Account customer portal on the main site that has sought to move away from a product-centric offering. Telstra head of digital Gerd Schenkel has indicated the app, which is likely to be available on mobile devices and tablets sold by Telstra, will largely focus on existing customer needs such as billing, tracking spend or usage and locating stores. Mr Schenkel, who helped establish one of National Australia Bank's best-known, online-only brands, UBank, says the tools featured on the app have been drawn from customer feedback that has featured simple demands such as a store-locater service.
Telstra launches Facebook customer service - twitter, Telstra, social media, Facebook. Telstra has launched customer service via Facebook following an admission by chief executive, David Thodey, that the company had fallen short on its customer service improvement goals for the 2011 financial year. In a blog post, executive director of Telstra digital, Gerd Schenkel, said expanded use of social media was prompted through the understanding that many customers prefer talking to the telco “in the wee hours of the night”.
Using the new service, customers can “live chat” with Telstra staff online 24/7 or post a question to which staff will “aim” to respond via email within two to four hours. “Over 20% of tweets to @telstra are “after hours” (a concept that doesn’t really exist online in the first place),” the blog post reads. “Which is why our social media support team is now available 24/7- so we can answer that niggling question you have about data usage in the middle of the night... “While it’s improving, we’re not quite where we want to be,” he said. AB+F | Australian Banking & Finance. EXCLUSIVE: The position of NAB’s direct bank offering UBank is set to be challenged following the departure of its general manager Gerd Schenkel last month to pursue “attractive opportunities”.
AB+F Daily Online can reveal Schenkel left UBank – and the NAB group - on April 20. Alex Twigg, general manager of direct banking strategy and transformation at NAB, is currently acting general manager of UBank. In an emailed response to a set of questions, Schenkel told AB+F Daily Online that his exit was “planned and amicable”. Asked why he left, Schenkel replied: “The digital economy is increasingly recognised by many corporations as an opportunity to transform their business model. “I have been approached with some attractive opportunities arising from that need.”
A spokeswoman for NAB said Schenkel left “to pursue other opportunities” but declined to detail any circumstances surrounding his departure. Schenkel’s departure seems unexpected and untidy. For his part, Schenkel is taking a sabbatical. Telstra wants to get more customers online. TELSTRA has announced one of its most ambitious attempts to allow its customers do more online as part of the push by the chief executive, David Thodey,to transform Telstra into a service-focused business and reduce its reliance on call centres.
The plan is for Telstra to become more like banks or airlines through its online offering, as just a fraction of transactions with customers currently take place on the internet. Telstra has recruited a former senior National Australia Bank technology executive, Gerd Schenkel, to oversee the project. Mr Schenkel, who has been consulting with Australia Post since last year, was the driving force behind NAB's fast-growing online business, UBank. Telstra hopes as much as a third of its contact with customers will take place online within two years, compared to just 3 per cent today. About 60 per cent of banking and airline transactions are done online, it says. Advertisement The ACCC's draft report recommended reducing wholesale line rental prices.
How to get the best banking deals in 2009. By Effie Zahos, Money Magazine, January 2009 In 2008 the banks divorced themselves from official interest rates. It was back in September when NAB’s general manager of retail banking, Andrew Thorburn, said that mortgage rates were now dependent on a number of variables and not just official rate changes. Even now with rates dropping, banks are still citing the high cost of credit on wholesale debt markets as the reason they’re holding back on the full 0.75% November Reserve Bank rate cut.
The federal government’s promise to guarantee bank accounts, a move to shore up local confidence rather than goodwill, has had an unexpected backlash for major deposit takers. Investors now have the confidence to stash their cash in smaller, lesser known authorised deposit-taking institutions. As for credit cards Surprise! The biggest news in the credit card market is the trend for retailers to flog their own credit cards. What next? Wooing customers “Our products aren’t sold through brokers. Best of the Best: Banking outlook for 2010. Best of the Best is all about sorting out the best financial products and services – to help you make the most of your finances. It helps too to sum up the year’s banking highlights, so here’s a snapshot. Interest rates hit a 40-year low – this time back in 2007 repayments on a $300,000 mortgage were $2329, today they’re just $1937, a saving of over $350 a month.
The cash rate plunged to 3%, yet throughout the year online savings accounts paying more than 4% were easy to find. NAB declared that from December 4, 2009 it would abolish the $25 over-limit fee on all credit cards and cut credit card late payments fees from $30 to $5, thereby leading the way to reducing and maybe (it’s a big call) even ending all excessive penalty fees. And while indeed there’s no such thing as a free lunch, fee-free everyday banking looks like it has arrived. That’s the good news, now it’s time to check out the potentially bad. For the exception, see this year’s banking Best Online Savings Account winner UBank. My Photos - Professional material. My Photos - Professional material. My Photos - Professional material. UBank: key media articles. IT can't replace face-to-face banking: NAB - News - Software - Z. While Australia's banks spend millions on new online banking tools and customer relationship management (CRM) projects, the National Australia Bank (NAB) aims to remain a face-to-face business, according to its CRM chief.
NAB has carried out several major technology projects in recent times, including a unified data warehousing system and the re-engineering of its consumer lending processes. Last year, the bank introduced SMS-based per-transaction authentication to increase the security of its Internet banking services. However, such technologies will only ever complement traditional services rather than replace them, according to Gerd Schenkel, general manager, customer strategy and cross marketing, NAB. "We are a firm believer that banking is a face-to-face business and we use technology more and more to support our face-to-face sales people," said Schenkel at a Teradata conference in Sydney this week. Bank's CRM revamp hits half-way mark. National Australia Bank (NAB) is betting its CRM system will not only transform its internal banking procedures and make them more customer friendly, but will help obtain more personal details.
NAB says it won't be aggressive about collecting personal information on its potential customers, but for existing customers the new, half completed CRM system, which is part of a $1.8 billion revamp dubbed Project Turnaround, will be used to help bankers recognize their loyalty. Project Turnaround, launched late last year, involves upgrading the existing CRM system (called National Leads). Gerd Schenkel, NAB customer strategy and cross-marketing director, said the CRM tool is not specifically designed to get the most information from customers, because that is the skill of the banker.
Schenkel said the design will be passive and let customers set their own pace. And then let the bankers do their job. The bank is focusing on two elements of the CRM system, banker workflow and banker feedback. Online Banking Review - Online Banking Review - online banking - Executive Interview: Gerd Schenkel, General Manager, UBank By Charis Palmer OBR: Gerd, you have quite an impressive academic background in science. What made you decide to do your MBA and switch over into business, and finance in particular?
GS: I’m not sure about impressive but I studied engineering and the main reason I was interested in exploring options other than engineering was that I discovered I really enjoyed working with people as opposed to with mathematics and machines. Machines are largely predictable but people have a rich spectrum of behaviours and are not as predictable. OBR: Apart from a very loud alarm clock, and the need to pay the bills, what gets you out of bed in the morning? GS: I do enjoy coming to work almost every day and mainly that’s an outcome of the team we’ve built at UBank. OBR: Before NAB you worked with BankWest and Citigroup, so you’ve seen some different strategic approaches to banking.
GS: In a way it’s turned out quite well. SMSF investors still hoarding cash. INVESTORS with self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) say they will continue to hold a big proportion of their portfolios in cash despite improvements in the Australian economy. A survey of SMSF investors who have term deposits linked to their funds found that 34 per cent held more than half of their portfolios in cash, while 33 per cent said their cash allocation was between 25 and 50 per cent. Conducted by UBank, National Australia Bank's direct bank, the survey also revealed that more than half of the 170 surveyed (54 per cent) had no plans to alter their cash allocation, while 19 per cent said they would invest more in cash.
The majority (66 per cent) said the global financial crisis had influenced the level of cash they decided to hold in their portfolios, with the primary motivation for investing in cash being "guaranteed returns", followed by "low risk". According to 75 per cent of the respondents, control was the main reason for setting up a SMSF. NAB - Media Releases/ASX Announcements 2009. East & Partners. Gerd Schenkel joined National Australia Bank as general manager, Customer Strategy & Cross Marketing in 2005 from Citigroup where he was director of Strategy & Business Development for Australia. Before this Schenkel was head of Strategy, Development & Implementation for BankWest’s Business & Corporate Bank. He is responsible for NAB’s customer relationship management (CRM) capability, where the emphasis is on “analytical CRM”. Schenkel tells East & Partners senior consultant Paul Bartholomew about the role CRM plays within the Bank and how it can be leveraged to create opportunities in Australia’s competitive business banking markets.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been a “buzzword” for many years now but has had mixed success. Why do you think this has been the case? I think the emphasis might have been too much on technology and installations of technology as opposed to the words ‘customer relationship management’. NAB has very publicly been focusing on ‘cultural change’. NAB profits from patience with CRM technology: over the past 15. Bcg Alumni Interview 2009. NAB Annual Report FY2009. UBank Launch Oct 2008. AFR. AFR Cash Report. UTable March 2010 1. Online Banking Review. UBank to launch mobile banking this year.