It’s been ten months since the first LIVE online event and the inaugural South East Europe CX Awards hosted by Awards International.
The event brought together more than 50 contenders from across the region for a chance to win recognition with their best initiatives in customer experience. Almost a year later, CXM sat down and talked with Nets CEE (formerly Mercury Processing Services, now part of Nets group) to learn what has changed since their notable wins at the SEECXA 20. Read below.
• Tell us something about the company and the work you do.
We provide digital payments and related services to merchants and banks, allowing them to service millions of European consumers. Trusted by 250+ banks in Europe, Nets Issuer & eSecurity Services helps banks stand out in an increasingly digital world through innovative payment solutions.
We offer:
- A one-stop-shop for payment processing services
- A full range of Fraud & Dispute services
- Tailored Consumer Management Services solution that manages all Debit, Credit, Virtual, Pre-Paid, Corporate, Fleet and Single-Use cards and accounts.
- Innovative, flexible and reliable mobile payment solutions
- Data and analytics ensuring high quality and cost efficiency
- A wide range of secure and innovative digital solutions in the areas of signing, distribution and archiving
- The two national e-security solutions that have been significant drivers in the digitisation of Denmark (NemID) and Norway (BankID). Delivered and operated by Nets, the systems support more than 9 million digital identities, widely used by most citizens and corporates on a daily basis
Nets CEE is based in Croatia and Slovenia. We are satisfied with where we are today but also very proud of our past; we have always taken pride in our stable and secure solutions, and together partnering with our bank customers we brought to the market some 1st in class innovative products.
• What was the initial reaction when you heard that you’ve won multiple CX awards?
Ever since our company was established, we have had a focus on putting the customers and employees at the heart of our everyday operations. Over the past 12 years we have constantly implemented internal campaigns that support the customer-centric culture and new ways of working in order to emphasize that even more and implement it further in our company culture.
The campaign we applied for the CX award, called To the power of 10, was based on our company’s 10-year anniversary; and the entire company was a part of the campaign. Even though the employees were at the center of the campaign, we used that as a strength to position ourselves as forward—thinking company and show our customers that the care we put into internal culture is something that projects towards the customers and that a good culture makes a strong foundation for the work we deliver.
We were finalists in 4 categories with our #tothepowerof10, ultimately taking home 3 awards!
- Employees at the heart of everything – For organisations that have enhanced the employee experience by placing staff members at the heart of what they do. – 3rd place
- Financial Institutions – This award is for banks, insurance companies, financial advisories, credit-card companies, accountancies, stock brokerages, investment funds, credit unions, and consumer finance companies that have enhanced the customer experience. – 2nd place
- CX professional of the year – This award goes to the individual/team leader who demonstrated dedication to delivering an exceptional customer experience. They can be nominated by a customer, a colleague, or even themselves! – 1st place
Being in the finals with all great companies from the region and competing with such great campaign showed us that we were on the right track, but winning 3 awards was something that was above and beyond our expectations.
• Since the SEECXA 20, what was the focus of your company’s customer experience efforts?
Winning these awards was yet another validation for the work we do in Marketing and we were even more persistent in our mission to put the customer voice first and to have our employees at the heart of our marketing and communication as well as in all the other activities. This was very much tested in the time of the Covid pandemic as we had to adjust to the new ways of working while still maintaining cohesion as a team. With different initiatives from HR and Marketing/Communication I believe that we have not lost the passion and the drive to stay close together; we just had to make different adjustments. In conclusion, this award was certainly an internal boost and proof that we are on a good track – and that we should continue with all activities as planned.
• How much time did it take for you to reach the level of CX that you have now in the company?
We were established in 2009 and one of the first things that we had done was set up a Voice of Customer activity & strategy plan. So, our customer-centric strategy was set up way back as, at the time, we had a dedicated team for Customer Experience Management within the top level in our Milano HQ, and it made for a high strategic position with a clear budget, activity list, etc. The team was inspiring, and we worked very closely with them and other teams inside the group on bringing new initiatives to the market. This helped build foundations for a lot of things that came later on. Still, I cannot say that we are at the top now, because in CX you always need to improve and invest; this is not a journey where you come to the destination and you can rest. The world is changing, the habits are changing, the behaviours are changing… what worked yesterday does not work today. So it takes constant effort to maintain the quality CX level and continue improving.
• How would you describe the state of CX in the South East Europe region?
I think it depends on the industry a company operates in. We can recognise that some industries in the region have a quite high level of CX, while some still do not recognise the benefits of investing in CX in a broader way. But a lot has been done in the past 10 years, especially in tech companies, and I see that, overall, CX is on a better level than it was before. I also recognise that a lot of companies are putting a lot of effort in growing faster to reach the level of CX present in some highly developed European Countries. What strikes me as distinctive of our region is the creativity that is already top class.
• What would be your message to anyone looking to enter CX awards?
It was a pleasure to be a part of this contest. Besides the fact that it was so professionally organised, the support that you get from the beginning until the end shows the CX that you would expect from this kind of organisation. You are walking the talk. I would recommend everybody to participate in such a contest where you can see how your CX stands compared to others, to get acquainted with other visions and campaigns from the region. Of course, winning and getting to the finals also has this positive snowball effect on the company – we have to admit everybody likes to be recognised and to win. Go for it! It is beneficial in so many different ways.