Customer service is how a company interacts with its customers, both during regular transactions and when addressing problems. A customer-centric business directly impacts a company’s profitability — now and into the future. According to a McKinsey & Company report, released earlier this year, companies with experience-led growth strategies see a 20% to 30% increase in customer satisfaction and engagement and a 5% to 10% boost in profits.
Experience-led growth is not a new concept, but choosing a customer-centric business model is often much harder in practice, particularly in the Canadian loan marketplace.
Every year thousands of Canadians turn to personal loans to help manage their expenses. While the current lending marketplace offers plenty of options — often with promises of easy application and fast approvals — finding the right loan can be an overwhelming process. That was the problem Loans Canada aimed to solve more than a decade ago.
It’s been more than a dozen years since the first loan comparison platform was launched in Canada and Loans Canada is thriving. Recently, the company was awarded the Finder: Personal Loans Customer Satisfaction Finalist Award for the best loan comparison site and earned a Most Recommended accolade along with a Best-Rated score in the Finder: Car Loans Customer Satisfaction awards.
According to Scott Satov, CFA and CEO of Loans Canada, the company’s edge has always been the same: A focus on exceptional customer service.
“As the original loan comparison platform in Canada, our focus has always been on representing the customer. From day one, we focused on providing real-time information, actionable financial studies and tools to help customers make well-informed decisions — all, for free.”
Why is customer service important?
Budgets and cash flow are important to a company’s bottom line and studies show that quality customer service increases profits. According to a 2020 report published in Harvard Business Review, brands that excel at customer service consistently report 2.5 times revenue growth when compared to direct competitors — and that’s across all industries.
It’s confirmation of the Pareto principle where 80% of results come from 20% of the effort, explains Romana King, Group Editor at Finder. Companies operating in the personal and car loan marketplace spend a lot of effort attracting new customers; however, it’s pre-and post-sale service that builds customer loyalty. “If you encourage and nurture your customers, they’re more likely to have positive associations with your brand — and that’s critical in an industry where customers are looking for a solution to the stress of financial strain.”
It’s also why Finder launched their Customer Satisfaction Awards. It’s a tool for Canadians to find personal and car loan providers with exceptional customer service. “Engaged customers are happy, loyal customers and that translates into more growth for companies and better options and experience for Canadians.”
Why is customer service important in the Canadian lending marketplace?
While debt is common — loans are used to pay for higher education, purchase vehicles, as a downpayment on a home, and purchase consumer and household goods — the reasons for taking on debt can add stress and strain on a person’s health and relationships.
“People are going to take on debt,” explains Satov. “When Loans Canada launched, we wanted to provide Canadians with the best debt options — so we focused on providing the most responsive and comprehensive loan comparison platform.”
This focus on speed and accessibility meant that Loans Canada customers could access the best loan rates and terms.
That customer-first commitment didn’t stop there, with the Loans Canada team focusing on providing customers with access to information and tools to make more informed decisions. This included free credit score monitoring services, loan calculators, and even access to debt counselling.
“We built our business with a customer-first approach. We took the time to appreciate and understand the position our customers are in when looking for a loan as a financial solution,” says Satov. “Then went the extra mile to provide relevant information, while implementing solutions to protect the client, and creating a seamless application and approval process.”
This is critical in an industry where scams can mean financial ruin.
“We make sure to work with the best lenders in the business,” says Satov, “and while most of our clients can complete an application and funding process completely online, we make sure if there is a problem, our customers can easily reach a person who can help.”
Brand loyalty is built one good review at a time
According to US legal firm Denha & Associates, brand loyalty is critical for overall business success. To build brand loyalty, companies need to focus on how customers experience the brand. One of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is through the online version of word-of-mouth marketing — customer reviews.
Word-of-mouth referrals drive 20% to 50% of purchasing decisions, according to the McKinsey & Company report Word of Mouth Marketing.
“[In the current economic climate] people’s financial positions have weakened,” says Satov. “ and this makes it even
It’s really important to look at the reviews left by customers and to do your research on a company,” explains Satov.
To capture the importance of personal recommendations, Finder created the “Most Recommended” list of personal loan and car loan providers in Canada. The only criterion was the percentage of past customers who would recommend the loan platform to a friend or family member.
This year, Loans Canada scored 91.43% — an exceptionally high Most Recommended score for car loan search platforms — and 80.57% for Best-Rated customer satisfaction.
“When companies listen to customer feedback and use that feedback to improve their products or service, it shows,” explains King.
Sources
- McKinsey & Company, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/experience-led-growth-a-new-way-to-create-value
- Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2020/01/are-you-undervaluing-your-customers
- Denha & Associates, https://denhalaw.com/brand-loyalty-operational-definition/
- McKinsey & Company, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-new-way-to-measure-word-of-mouth-marketing
