Sales Success Needs Customer Advocacy

Sales strategies in the German retail banking market range from passive customer advocacy to extreme sales orientation. The sales success of some of the sales-oriented banks begs the question of whether sales success needs customer advocacy at all. We think the answer is clear: It definitely does. Customers who rate their bank high on customer advocacy are much more likely to consider their bank for additional financial products. But the reverse is also true: Banks that are good customer advocates will need sales orientation to be successful. Sales managers have to find the right balance between customer advocacy and sales orientation.