Enhancing Merchant Relationships through Strategic Engagement for a Leading US Bank
Enhancing Merchant Relationships through Strategic Engagement for a Leading US Bank
Industry
In today’s competitive financial services landscape, banks face increasing pressure to deliver differentiated value to their business customers—particularly in merchant services. For top-tier merchants, poor account engagement, lack of personalized support, and missed growth opportunities can quickly translate to churn or stagnation. Amid a commoditized market where customer loyalty is fragile, a leading U.S. bank recognized the urgent need to rethink its merchant engagement strategy.
With over 100,000 merchants and $6.75 billion in annual charge volume at stake from a high-potential segment, the bank partnered with Aucera, a ResultsCX company, to elevate relationship management, deepen loyalty, and uncover untapped growth.
With over 100,000 merchants and $6.75 billion in annual charge volume at stake from a high-potential segment, the bank partnered with Aucera, a ResultsCX company, to elevate relationship management, deepen loyalty, and uncover untapped growth.
The Challenge:
The bank identified approximately 5,000 merchants whose transaction volumes made them vital to long-term revenue growth but also most susceptible to competitive poaching. CX challenges included:
- Lack of proactive account management, leading to missed retention and upsell opportunities
- Limited visibility into merchant needs, making it harder to personalize support or recommend growth solutions
- Disjointed engagement processes that failed to build trust or demonstrate value beyond basic transaction handling
- Inefficient outreach, impacting agent productivity and operational ROI
The bank needed a model that combined personalized outreach with structured insights to drive both retention and expansion.
The Solution:
To address these issues, Aucera deployed a strategic “Pod” engagement model—a one-to-one relationship management framework where specialized agents acted as dedicated account managers for assigned merchants.
This approach was anchored by three structured touchpoints:
- Outreach & Introduction
Agents proactively introduced themselves as service managers, establishing trust while gathering contextual data about each merchant’s business. - Customer Insight Review
Using tailored insight reports, agents collaborated with merchants to assess account health and identify stabilization or growth actions. - Follow-up & Value-Added Solutions
Armed with merchant data, agents delivered targeted recommendations—from process education to marketing cross-sell opportunities—aimed at reinforcing the relationship and driving value.
Throughout the process, the team emphasized personalization, timely follow-through, and measurable results, addressing the service gaps often seen in traditional merchant relationship models.
The Results:
- $4.6M in recovered charge volume within the first 6 months of the program
- 67% first engagement rate across the entire target merchant portfolio
- 95% total contact rate, significantly improving reach and responsiveness
- 474 revenue opportunities identified, representing $175.1M in potential charge volume
- 25% of opportunities converted, generating $28.2M in additional charge volume
- 161% increase in engagement efficiency, from 0.31 to 0.81 engagements per hour
- 93% quality score and 95% data integrity, maintaining CX excellence at scale
- 80% headcount growth, demonstrating program scalability and impact
By prioritizing proactive, data-driven engagement, the bank not only strengthened its merchant relationships but also unlocked significant revenue opportunities in a highly competitive market. This case underscores how personalized CX strategies, when combined with structured insights and consistent follow-through, can redefine value delivery in banking.
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