概述
金融服务公司正面临着来自行业内外一系列前所未有的战略挑战。由于人口结构转变、社会变化，以及接受新技术作为提供金融服务的一种手段，消费者行为和金融需求正在发生变化。数据可得性和由此带来的客户洞察能力正在迅速提高，这激发了从以产品为中心的模式到以客户为中心的模式的转变。这种发展趋势及其所带来的新金融科技模式正在直接颠覆传统的商业模式。
英国脱欧等政治事件以及对国际资本流动（新的和已有的）限制有可能会改变全球市场的自然演变，并改变跨国公司跨境开展业务的方式。许多司法管辖区的监管制度正变得越来越积极、详细。
全球金融危机爆发十年后，余波仍在，具体表现为利率处于历史新低，人们对各大传统金融服务品牌持续缺乏信任。种种挑战迫使老牌公司从战略上考虑在哪些领域投资，以及它们可能希望探索的新增长途径。这些挑战也为颠覆者创造了为客户提供金融产品和服务的新理念和新方案的机会。
我们如何提供帮助
各种规模的金融服务公司聘请艾意凯咨询，帮助他们就瞬息万变的市场制定实用的、必胜的策略。在每一个项目中，我们的高层管理人员都会投入大量时间，与公司管理层和投资者密切合作，解决他们所面临的最为复杂的商业挑战。我们的团队利用自身深厚的行业知识和高级分析能力，为实现客户目标制定正确的方法：
- 战略评估和制定：我们帮助客户评估、完善或制定全面的公司或业务单元战略。我们首先设定最高层次的目标，定义愿景和使命，设定风险偏好以及其他约束条件，然后支持对诸如行业子领域或产品类别、地理位置、价值链环节、客户细分和渠道等关于“在何处竞争”的选择。
- 新市场进入战略，以及新产品和服务的开发：我们帮助客户开拓新的区域市场和细分市场。这包括成熟和新兴的区域市场；消费者和企业/商业市场；主流和小众产品领域；直销和中间商市场；以及随高速变化的金融服务业而产生的新型、创新市场。我们的市场进入战略为客户提供了增长和创造长期价值的机会，成功的案例有目共睹。
- 识别并执行创造价值的交易：从评估、执行到整合，在整个交易生命周期的每个阶段，我们均为客户提供支持，为买卖双方服务。我们基于对潜在市场及其竞争动态、客户偏好和行为，以及目标资产特定的差异化特征的深入了解，制定并实现创新性的投资逻辑。
- 运营优化：艾意凯咨询与客户密切合作，优化整个价值链的流程、运营和组织结构。常见课题包括商业效益、激励和运营模式设计，包括对将“书面战略”成功落地所需能力进行详细评估。
- 在诉讼程序和监管事宜中，倡导并保护客户利益：在竞争调查中和诉讼情况下为客户提供支持服务方面，我们拥有丰富的经验，包括起草正式的提交文件，以及支持或充当专家证人。我们以独特的方式结合商业洞察力和专业分析知识，提出令人信服的论点和论据，以应对此类情况下固有的详细审查和挑战。
成功案例
- 艾意凯咨询为一家全球医疗保健设备供应商提供支持，以开发一项专注于医疗保健的独立的杠杆融资业务。该客户已成功进入超过八个国家，并实现了数千万美元的年利润。
- 我们帮助某保险公司确定扩展到新产品领域的机会，以最大限度地吸引现有客户。通过我们所做的工作，客户不断发展壮大，对其在行业中的地位重新充满了信心。
- 艾意凯受一家领先的保险经纪软件供应商委托，帮助其提高商业效益，特别是在销售和分销方面。我们对客户需求进行了详细的划分和评估，并设计了一种全新的服务模式。通过我们所做的工作，重点客户的单位盈利得到了实质性的改善，针对较低层次的客户也有了更高效的服务方法。
- 通过帮助制定与执行成长和绩效提升计划，艾意凯帮助一家私募股权投资的支付服务供应商将息税折旧和摊销前利润 (EBITDA) 翻倍。我们的工作也使得该私募股权机构成功退出这项投资。
- 欧洲最大的某零售银行计划针对其网络的分支机构和客户服务经理引进一项新的激励方案。该方案将以净推荐值 (NPS) 的驱动因素为基准。艾意凯协助其制定新的激励方案，以鼓励使价值最大化的行为，并提高 NPS。
How we help
Financial services companies of all sizes engage L.E.K. to help them develop practical, winning strategies for a dynamic market. We work in close partnership with senior executives and investors to resolve their most complex commercial challenges, committing significant senior time to every engagement. Our teams leverage both their deep sector knowledge and advanced analytical capability to develop the right approach to achieving clients’ goals:
- Strategy review and development: We help our clients review, refine or develop their overarching corporate or business unit strategies. This starts from the highest-level goal setting, definition of vision and mission, and setting of risk appetite and other constraints and proceeds to support “where to play” choices in terms of industry sectors or product categories, geographies, stages in the value chain, customer segments and channels.
- New market entry strategy, and new product and service development: We help our clients expand into new geographies and market segments. This includes mature and emerging geographical markets; consumer and business/commercial markets; mainstream and niche product areas; direct and intermediated markets; and new, innovative markets enabled by the rapid changes that are ongoing in financial services. Our market entry strategies for clients open the door to growth and long-term value creation, with a proven track record of success.
- Identification and execution of value-creating transactions: We support our clients at every stage of the deal lifecycle, from evaluation to execution and integration, acting in both buy-side and sell-side roles. We create and deliver on innovative investment theses based on in-depth understanding of the underlying markets and their competitive dynamics, customers’ preferences and behaviors, and the specific differentiating characteristics of the assets under consideration.
- Optimization of operations: L.E.K. works closely with clients to optimize processes, operations and organizational structures across the value chain. Frequent topics include commercial effectiveness, incentives and operating model design, including detailed assessment of the capabilities required to turn a “paper strategy” into practical success.
- Advocate and protect their interests in litigation proceedings and regulatory matters: We have substantial experience in supporting clients in competition investigations and litigation situations, including in drafting formal submissions, and supporting or acting as expert witnesses. We employ a unique combination of commercial insight and analytical expertise to produce compelling arguments and evidence to withstand the detailed scrutiny and challenge inherent in these situations.
Success stories
- L.E.K. supported a global provider of healthcare equipment to develop a stand-alone healthcare-focused leveraged finance business. The client successfully entered more than eight country markets and is achieving annual profits in the tens of millions of dollars.
- We supported an insurance provider to identify opportunities for expansion into new product areas that would achieve maximum traction with existing customers. As a result of our work, the client is growing strongly with renewed confidence about its position in the industry.
- L.E.K. was engaged by a leading provider of insurance broking software to improve its commercial effectiveness, specifically in sales and distribution. We undertook a detailed segmentation and assessment of customer needs, and devised a fundamentally new service model. Our work led to substantial improvements in revenue per key customer and more efficient service approaches to lower-tier customers.
- L.E.K. helped a private equity-owned payment services provider to double EBITDA by identifying and executing growth and performance improvement initiatives. The impact of our work also enabled the owner to achieve a successful exit from the business.
- One of Europe’s largest retail banks was planning to introduce a new incentive scheme for the branch and customer service managers of their network. This scheme was to be based on the drivers of Net Promoter Scores (NPS). L.E.K. assisted in developing the new incentive scheme to motivate value-maximizing behavior and increase NPS.