Optimizing Retail Branch Efficiency with AI-Driven CX Systems for a Leading Indian Bank

The Challenge: A Flawed NPS® Program Undermining Customer Experience

One of India’s leading banks partnered with Numr Research to optimize its Customer Experience System and improve the efficiency of its retail branches and frontline employees.

Despite having an NPS® survey program in place, the bank faced critical CX challenges that limited its ability to derive actionable insights:

1️⃣ Manipulated NPS® Scores:

• The bank’s NPS® program included a reward and punishment system, which shifted the employees’ focus from improving customer satisfaction to artificially boosting scores.
  
  
• Employees began coaching customers to provide favorable ratings, distorting the true customer experience metrics.
  
  

2️⃣ Delayed and Stale Feedback:

• Surveys were conducted via phone calls with only a small subset of customers, leading to low response rates.
  
  
• By the time feedback was collected, 30-45 days had passed, making the insights outdated and unactionable.
  
  

3️⃣ Damaging Customer Interactions:

• Some employees proactively contacted customers, urging them to give positive ratings rather than honest feedback.
  
  
• In some cases, staff even called customers to demand explanations for low scores, damaging customer trust and decreasing survey response rates.
  
  

The Bank’s CX Goals:

🔹 Ensure frontline employees effectively close the loop on customer complaints. 🔹 Improve response rates to get a more accurate pulse on customer satisfaction. 🔹 Use CX data analytics to derive real-time, actionable insights rather than outdated reports.

The Solution: A Data-Driven Approach to Customer Experience Optimization

Numr Research deployed a two-pronged strategy to transform the client’s CX initiative and maximize the ROI of CX:

1️⃣ Removing NPS®-Based Incentives to Refocus on Customer Experience

One of the biggest roadblocks was the bank’s reward and punishment system tied to NPS®.

❌ Numr advised eliminating performance incentives based on NPS scores.
✅ Instead, the focus shifted to increasing response rates and closing customer complaints effectively.

By doing this, Numr eliminated bias and ensured that frontline employees genuinely engaged with customers, rather than manipulating scores.

2️⃣ Enabling Real-Time Feedback with Instant Survey Triggers

To enhance customer journey optimization, Numr implemented instant NPS® surveys sent immediately after a customer transaction.

✅ Faster, more accurate insights: Managers received real-time feedback on service quality.
✅ Higher response rates: Surveys were sent when the customer experience was still fresh, leading to better engagement.
✅ Stronger CX data analytics: The bank could now track customer sentiment trends more effectively.

3️⃣ Increasing Response Rates with a Customer-Centric Approach

Numr Research helped the bank reframe its survey approach:

❌ Instead of asking customers for a “good rating”,
✅ The bank started requesting honest feedback on their experiences.

This subtle shift resulted in:
✔ A higher response rate (20-25%), allowing for more accurate customer experience metrics.
✔ Stronger customer relationships, as customers felt listened to rather than pressured.

4️⃣ Closing the Loop: Faster Resolution of Customer Complaints

Numr prioritized closing the loop on customer complaints quickly and effectively:

✅ Automated Hot Alerts: When a negative NPS® response was received, an immediate alarm was triggered for the relevant manager.
✅ Empowered frontline employees: Instead of outsourcing complaints to call centers, branch employees directly handled issue resolution.
✅ Reduced closure time: Complaints were addressed in less than 24 hours, significantly boosting customer retention.

The Result: A High-Impact CX Transformation

With Numr Research’s CX strategy and data-driven approach, the bank achieved remarkable improvements in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency:

📈 Survey response rates skyrocketed from 8-9% to 20-25%, providing richer CX data analytics.
🚀 Complaint resolution time dropped to under 24 hours, enhancing customer retention.
🔄 Closed ticket rates increased to 25-30%, ensuring more satisfied and loyal customers.
💰 Lowered CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) by strengthening customer trust and reducing churn.
📊 Frontline employees became effective problem-solvers, elevating customer lifetime value (CLTV).

By eliminating NPS® score manipulation and focusing on genuine customer insights, the bank successfully transformed its retail branches into customer experience hubs—improving both service quality and Customer Experience ROI.

‍