Santander turns to social media to help address “poor” service perception

Marketing Week Live! 2011: Santander is to ramp up use of social media in the hope of improving the “dialogue” it has with customers, as part of the banking group’s ongoing efforts to improve customer service.

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Speaking at Marketing Week Live! in London today (29 June), Keith Moor, brand and communications director at Santander, said it was developing its social media platforms  to engage with customers.

The commitment comes as the brand is relaunched in the UK with a new strapline “driven to do better”.

The line has been introduced, Moor adds, to demonstrate that the bank is changing and will continue to.

He admitted that customer service has been “poor”, partly because of problems caused by integrating the Alliance and Leicester and Bradford and Bingley businesses bought in 2008 but also because of long-standing process problems at Abbey National, which Santander bought in 2004.

All three now operate under the Santander name but the bank continues to be dogged by reports of poor customer service. Recently installed chief executive Ana Patricia Boti has made improving service a priority.

A staff retraining programme with the aim of improving customer experience is ongoing, Moor said, with more initiatives to come later this year.

“Innovation is not just about products but also customer experience,” he said.

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