Bank of America 2001 Annual Report Download - page 19

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Deepen. Our customers interact with us 3 billion times
each year. Each of those interactions gives us opportunities
to know the customer better and to leverage that knowledge
to serve the customer.
We are using new tools to anticipate
customer behavior based on past patterns of
purchasing and usage, allowing us to match
customers’ needs with products and services
while still respecting their privacy. As we learn
more about meaningful events in our customers’
lives, we can drive sales and continue to deepen
their relationships with our company.
Helping our customers find the right service
level – Prime, Plus or Premier – and delivery
channels affords us a tremendous opportunity to
deepen existing relationships.
And when customers choose to move from
the Prime to Plus service level, for example, they
become three times more profitable and are 10%
more likely to stay with our company. For cus-
tomers moving from Plus to Premier, profitability
increases three-fold again. It is important to note
that the majority of our customers will remain
Prime customers because that is the most appro-
priate service level for them. Deepening relation-
ships doesn't just include promoting additional
products; it includes doing more for our customers, which
leads more customers to choose higher service levels. In
2001, 837,000 customers chose a higher service level.
There is ample evidence that deepening relationships
works for both our customers and shareholders. In 2001,
credit card interactions generated 677,000 new checking
accounts. And when a credit card-only customer adds a
checking account, it helps increase shareholder value added
(SVA). Similar dynamics occur with other products and serv-
ices, such as consumer real estate loans.
Mortgage, insurance and other consumer real estate
products are critical to our goal of increasing SVA because
they provide excellent opportunities to introduce customers
to a fuller range of products.
To drive both mortgage and relationship
growth, we redefined our mortgage distribution
model and placed it under local market manage-
ment. Now each consumer market manager has
full accountability for growing share of market.
We are continuing to refine sales and delivery
processes to increase customer satisfaction,
deepen relationships and lower costs.
Selling insurance underwritten by others is
another way to deepen relationships. Customers
need insurance when buying homes, planning
for retirement or starting small businesses. Our
access to 27 million customers during those key
windows of opportunity gives us a significant
competitive advantage.
It’s all about relationships. Going forward
we will leverage our strengths and ingenuity in a
focused and integrated fashion to grow SVA.
We are translating an intense customer focus
into improved customer processes and enhanced
customer satisfaction. Through innovative process
improvements, enhanced quality and productivity
and our integrated planning process, we have become more
disciplined in planning, in measuring, in managing risk and in
prioritizing among our greatest opportunities.
We have demonstrated that we can execute consistently
and with speed to drive results. And, despite the downturn
in the economy, we expect to sustain this momentum in
2002. We will continue to attract, retain and deepen cus-
tomer relationships. As we do, we should see increases in
SVA. We expect the result to be ever more powerful, funda-
mental and sustainable impacts on our bottom line.
<Serving Consumers
DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS
INCREASES SVA
Service Level Movement in 2001
CUSTOMERS ARE CHOOSING
HIGHER SERVICE LEVELS
$770
$980
$1,650
$1,970
$2,110
Premier
Plus
Prime
81,000
756,000
■ First Mortgage
■ Card
■ Insurance
■ Checking
■ Home Equity
Line of Credit