At Standard Life we're pleased to be part of the Customer Impact Scheme - an initiative from the life and pensions industry, which is designed to help us keep putting you, our customers, at the heart of everything we do. Standard Life's third report tells you how the scheme mirrors our own approach to doing business, what we're doing already, and what we plan to do next.
"We want to make sure that you, our customers, are happy with the way we look afer you, and the Customer Impact Scheme helps us to do this. It's one part of our wider drive to build strong, lasting relationships with all our customers.
As we explained in last year's report, we want to create exceptional customer experiences by serving people, not products. In 2008 we took a big step forwards by replacing our product teams with customer teams - a significant change that means thinking and acting in a new way. It may take some time for the results to show, but we believe that over the next few years, you will notice a real difference in how we respond to your needs and aspirations.
As well as sharing your personal goals with us, you entrust us with your money. That's a major responsibility and one we take very seriously. With markets and companies in a state of flux over the past year, many people have seen the value of their investments fall and the stability of the financial sector questioned. This has had a deep-seated effect on perceptions of our industry, and it also highlights how important it is for us to help our customers understand more about the long-term cycles of the markets, and to keep reassuring them that Standard Life is financially secure.
One positive thing to come out of the recent focus on financial markets is that our customers have become more engaged in money matters. They ask us more searching questions and demand more detailed answers. That's very welcome and we are doing all that we can to keep up this momentum, using all available options to offer you the information, support and knowledge you need to make the most of your finances.
To help us understand what our customers need we do a great deal of research and, during 2008, we listened to the thoughts of approximately 11,000 of our customers. These in-depth discussions have revealed fascinating information about everything from the new, more flexible way that our customers view retirement, to how you prefer to buy products.
The Customer Impact Survey is more wide-ranging than our individual studies and helps give us an overall view of where we've made progress and highlights where we could do more. This is the third yearly survey we have taken part in and we remain pleased with our scores for building long-term relationships with our customers, but recognise that we still have a lot of work to do in other areas. Some of this is already underway and other projects will follow soon. You can find out more in the full report and I look forward to updating you next June."
Sandy Crombie,
Group Chief Executive
