What should RBS do first to clear up the mess left behind from the computer failure?

Managing Customer Relationships

Now I might be looking at this over critically through the eyes of a person who deals with best sales practice and account management sales methodology on a daily basis for Fintech companies but communication through mass media is not a personal touch. Did your Company Bank Manager contact you and discuss what issues this computer failure will have on your business? No, then how do you rate your local Bank Manager now? Low, not as a Trusted Advisor but as a Vendor but s/he is really important to your future success. There is a total miss match going on here.

Segmenting Your Account

The first lesson you learn with a Targeted Account Management approach is knowing which customer contacts you should be contacting first within a company and understanding the customers importance to your business. Your A accounts. If I was the Bank Manager I would be getting on the phone and not waiting for my best customers to come to a branch bank and be lumped in with everyone else.

Analyzing Opportunities

If the bank shows no service to their customers, they will have little faith in your future relationship. The customer is probably starting to feel concerned about their business and questioning whether the bank are providing a good enough service because their suppliers are also worrying futher down the line. Customers don't like shocks, so cushion the blow quickly.

Creating Your Account Plan

If I use my carefully understood account management skills, I would have explained the ramifications to my customer and outline what they expect from me. In return I would  tell them what I expect from them to rectify the knock-on effects the problem may have caused. 

Implementing the Plan

Total Alignment is the key to business success and an important part of concluding bad business well. Understanding the difficulities before they arise and not letting third parties interfer with your customer satisfaction is all in the planning. But you have to implement the account plan now!