Initiatives for Customer-First Services
Daiwa Securities Group understands that customer trust is the foundation of our business. Based on the idea of the Customer First Principle, we always try to provide services that deliver genuine customer satisfaction.
We have also adopted the idea of hospitality to enhance our existing concept of customer service. We aim to provide customer service that gives the most satisfaction to customers.
Building Deeper, Stronger Trust with Customers
Daiwa Securities aims to build customer satisfaction through quality services, built on understanding customer needs quickly and proposing the best solutions for each customer. We consider providing faithful and appropriate explanations to be paramount. A principle of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act prohibits "solicitation that is improper in light of a customer's knowledge, experience, financial situation and objectives." Daiwa Securities' approach is rooted in this principle. As a part of our hospitality-based service, when promoting our financial products we strive to provide explanations and post-sale follow-up that exceed the legal requirements. We have also agreed with the purport of the "Principles for Customer-Oriented Business Conduct" announced by the Financial Services Agency in March 2017 and expressed our adoption of the principles, while drawing up and announcing our "Basic Policy on Customer-first Operations."
Moreover, to further improve our services and the quality of our sales approach, we are continuing to conduct customer service surveys. We survey customers regarding their degree of satisfaction with our services and sales approach, and solicit their feedback and requests. Based on the survey results, we have been strengthening our initiatives to improve the quality of consulting and enhance the convenience of services.
Basic Policy on Customer-first Operations
Daiwa Securities Group has agreed with the purport of the "Principles for Customer-Oriented Business Conduct" announced by the Financial Services Agency on March 30, 2017 and expressed its adoption of the principles. The Group has also drawn up and announced its "Basic Policy on Customer-first Operations."
Measuring NPS® (Net Promoter Score) for "Maximizing the Value of Customer Assets"
Daiwa Securities has been working to provide customers with high-quality consulting services based on a deep understanding of customer needs to increase the value of customer assets on a medium- to long-term. It has been measuring NPS® (Net Promoter Score) as an in-house indicator for measuring customer satisfaction.
The score measures the degree of customer recommendation and is considered to correlate closely with business performance. We position it as one of our most important management indicators.
When introducing NPS®, we implemented sales reforms successively at individual branches to ensure that the aim of the introduction is well understood and established among employees. We will further step up our efforts to carry out sales activities from the customer perspective. At the same time, we will build a scheme for implementing a PDCA cycle to improve NPS® for "Maximizing the value of customer assets."
- *NPS® is a registered trademark of Bain & Company, Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems.
Improving In-Branch Customer Service Quality
Daiwa Securities strives to provide in-branch services that can satisfy any customer.
With the aim of creating sales branches enabling elderly customers and customers with disabilities to feel secure, we have placed employees with service assistant* certifications, mostly comprising employees engaged in in-house customer service.
Moreover, in order to ensure that our sales branches are accessible to more customers, we implement a range of barrier-free measures, including reduced variations in floor level, the installation of automatic doors and larger counters, and the placement of cane holders at all counters.
We have also been stepping up our efforts to enhance safety and convenience for elderly customers and customers with disabilities visiting our sales branches. As part of such efforts, we place and make ready for use writing communication boards, communication sheets, cane holders, hearing assistance devices, and other equipment.
- *Service assistant
A service assistant is a person certified as having acquired hospitality and safe assistant skills for providing tailored support for elderly customers and customers with disabilities.
Initiatives for Elderly Customers and Inheritance
Daiwa Securities has placed Anshin (peace of mind) Planners and Inheritance Consultants as an initiative to provide each one of our elderly customers with optimum consulting and solutions.
Anshin Planners are mainly responsible for elderly customers, providing comprehensive consulting for customers in their later years. The scope of the Planners' work is not limited to asset management but includes the provision of information on health, long-term care, etc. and solutions in relation to gifts, inheritance, etc. to next generations.
Inheritance Consultants are professional staff members appointed from among employees with CFP® certifications who have highly specialized knowledge of inheritance and gifts.
We work to provide optimum support to every customer we serve by subdividing our services according to the life stage of each customer and making careful proposals.
In addition to these initiatives, we are focusing on an Inheritance Planner Certification® in order to further develop inheritance and business succession professionals. An Inheritance Planner Certification® is granted to candidates selected from among employees with CFP® certifications after they undergo certification training designed to help them acquire a deeper knowledge of inheritance and business succession. It is an in-house credential at Daiwa Securities.
- *CFP® is a financial planner credential certified by the Japan Association for Financial Planners. A CFP® holder has specialized knowledge of asset management, taxation, etc.
Working to Incorporate Customer Voices
At Daiwa Securities, the Contact Center and the Customer Support Center assume the function of utilizing customer feedback.
Contact Center Initiatives
Employees at the Contact Center, which serves as our comprehensive remote contact point, have direct contact with customers and play an increasingly crucial role not only as a transaction channel but also in customer support and marketing. In order to maintain and improve contact center operations to meet the demand for high-quality service, we provide training and regular level checks for all Telephone Service Representatives (TSR). We thus strive to appropriately respond to customers' true needs.
Contact Center Functions
The Contact Center, which was opened in July 2000, has been a key channel for transactions, supporting the company's business model whose cornerstones are Daiwa Consulting and Daiwa Direct transaction courses. The center now handles calls coming in to sales branches and some dialing support work, thereby acting as Daiwa Securities' comprehensive remote contact center for customers.
We established a contact center function in Osaka in 2011 and then in Fukuoka in 2016 as our third service point. We also increased the number of people staffing these centers.
In addition, we started to handle incoming calls to sales branches in 2014 and, since 2020, we have also been expanding the functional aspects, including taking over some of the customer support operations of our sales branches.
By further expanding our customer response capability, we aim to enhance our support functions for sales branches going forward to increase customer convenience.
Customer Feedback Sent to Contact Center
The Contact Center receives numerous comments and requests on online trading and Daiwa Securities' other products and services.
We share such customer feedback information and requests with management and relevant departments and sections of the head office and utilize them to enhance our services and customer interaction. We also show some of the inquiries received from customers on our website as "frequently asked questions," while sharing them with sales branches in some cases to speed up our responses. We are thus working to raise customer satisfaction from various perspectives.
Customer Support Center Initiatives
Daiwa Securities' Customer Support Center is a department at the head office that handles customer feedback and complaints directly by phone. It is set up within Compliance Department 1 of Daiwa Securities.
The Center promptly gives feedback and complaints from customers to relevant sales branches and departments and sections of the head office. It also sorts and analyzes such feedback and complaints, shares them with officers, sales branches, and head office departments and sections, and capitalizes on them as precious information in the aim of "customer-first operations" and "pursuit of best quality."
To respond to customers' calls thoroughly, accurately, and promptly, Customer Support Center members work to improve the quality of their customer services.
Inquiries and Complaints Received at the Customer Support Center in FY2023
- Number of calls received: 5,892 calls (up 1,040 calls)
Inquiries: 89%
Complaints: 11% - Based on customer feedback, we have made a number of improvements. For example, we have simplified documents we ask customers to fill in. We have also revised product information on our website to make such information easier to understand.