Priority clients: Small but lucrative market

Priority clients: Small but lucrative market

Ari Darmawan, Contributor, Jakarta

Priority customers are not huge in number, but due to their
enormous amounts of funds and transactions they are undoubtedly
regarded as "fat" accounts, and therefore categorized as clients
who deserve priority banking services.

Two state banks, Bank Mandiri and BNI, for example, provide
such customers with exclusive service packages called Mandiri
Prioritas and BNI Prima, respectively. Bank Mandiri refers to
these clients as "prominent persons", while BNI's term is
"special persons". Obviously, they deserve these names as they
let the banks manage funds for them amounting to billions or even
trillions of rupiah. Normally, to be classified as one of these
special individuals, the amount deposited in the bank must be at
least Rp 300 million.

A number of private domestic banks and major foreign banks
also provide similar services. Bank Niaga has Niaga Private
Banking, while Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)
features HSBC Premier. Some local banks provide similar services
for their major customers, but due to their own internal reasons
prefer to maintain a low profile for these services and do not
give them any grand names.

Bank NISP, for example, provides priority services to certain
customers based on the quality of their relationship.

"A huge amount of funds is not a prerequisite. We tend to look
at our relationship with the customer, for example how long he or
she has been our client, rather than the amount of money
entrusted with us. So our classification of priority customers is
more flexible. We always strive to provide such customers with
something extra, something more satisfying, even including a
special interest rate," said Pramukti Surjaudaja, president and
CEO of Bank NISP.

The bank has not created a special service package for its
"special" customers, because since its establishment its target
market has never been major corporations or "top" individuals.

"The majority of our customers belong to the middle class ...
this has been from the start of our business. This particular
segment, though rarely comprising multibillionaires, is very
resilient and each of them is entirely focused on his or her
business," Pramukti said.

Just like the name priority banking, banks specializing in
this segment provide a wide range of prioritized services for
their special customers, including personalized staff, special
luxury office, consultation on investment and financial matters
and, of course, the entire range of products and services
available to all customers, only with more ease and convenience.

Bank Mandiri operates its Mandiri Prioritas service in most of
the country's major cities, such as Jakarta, Medan, Palembang,
Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, etc. The bank's specially trained
and highly professional staff -- called Personal Bankers -- are
available round the clock to attend to a customer's needs, be it
administrative, financial or consultative, plus the execution of
investments.

Naturally, these Personal Bankers are equipped with a vast
knowledge of current financial and business trends, which enables
them to provide a customer with solutions and investments with
the highest probability of profit. Plus, they serve customers
with sincere enthusiasm and friendliness. They attend to even the
smallest requests from customers, though, of course, in today's
high-tech era their telephone and computer will suffice.

Bank Mandiri's priority customers are also allowed to transfer
amounts higher than those permitted for ordinary customers, up to
Rp 50 million per day, and they can use the bank's safe deposit
boxes for free. Another acknowledgement is the Bank Mandiri
Prioritas Card, which, of course, gives customers privilege
services at all of the bank's branches, the use of Executive
Lounges at certain airports, discounts at various star-rated
hotels and exclusive restaurants, and special invitations to
exhibitions, shows, entertainments, seminars and so forth.

Last year, for instance, Bank Mandiri Prioritas offered
privileged customers a special tour -- Art & Shopping Tour -- to
the city of Yogyakarta and its surrounding areas. The tour
included, among other things, special discounts at the Bhumiprama
Gallery, the Ardiyanto Batik Gallery and the Ullen Sentanu Batik
Museum, which has a collection of the entire range of royal
dresses of the Yogyakarta Palace from past to present.

The customers on the tour also were taken to the Yogyakarta
Palace and were personally received by the Sultan's wife, Gusti
Kanjeng Ratu Hemas. Next, they were taken on a scenic tour of
Tembi village on horse-pulled carts, where they enjoyed the
fantastic view of traditional houses and local scenery. The guide
was none other than the famous movie star Rima Melati. Consistent
with the theme of the tour, the lunch for these special customers
was held at the Losari Coffee Plantation, well known for its
beautiful panorama and cool weather.

"This was part of our program to retain clients and to
maintain their loyalty," said Kostaman Thoyib, manager of Bank
Mandiri Prioritas. Other specially packaged programs to pamper
these special clients are golf tournaments, fashion shows,
seminars and exhibitions. During a recent exhibition of Arie
Smith's paintings, for example, these special customers were
given a special price -- half the market price -- for a book
containing the collection of Arie Smith's paintings.

Similarly, Bank Niaga Private Banking also offers its priority
customers various special programs, including every available
convenience in the management of their funds and worldwide
access. The bank's staff for this exclusive service are called
Customer Relationship Managers and they make sure that customers
really get all the highly professional services plus the "perks",
just like the bank's motto: "At Bank Niaga Private Banking You
Get Your Own Personal Financial Manager."

Meanwhile, HSBC's priority banking service -- HSBC Premier --
assures its privileged customers of truly worldwide service and
international access. As a major global and long-established
bank, HSBC's Relationship Managers provide their customers with
the bank's entire range of products and services, including
consultation and the execution of investments.

HSBC Premier customers can carry out any kind of banking
transaction 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the bank's
Personal Phonebanking from anywhere in the world. They are also
automatically protected from bounced checks. Cash withdrawals at
all HSBC Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are free of charge, and
special discounts are also available at certain world-class
boutiques.

Apparently, these types of customers, with their huge amounts
of deposits and subsequent transactions make a tremendous
contribution to these banks' profits.

Bank Mandiri has some six million customers comprising
corporate and individual clients. With roughly half a percent of
these customers with at least Rp 500 million each -- amounting to
Rp 15 trillion -- they form a lucrative market segment.