A multi-million pound investment in digital technology has been announced by the Nottingham Building Society (known as The Nottingham), which will make it easier for members to access the society’s unique advice and service proposition online as well as in branch.

The announcement marks the start of a new business phase that will see The Nottingham transform the way it interacts with its customers and members.

The initial focus will be on replacing the society’s existing digital capabilities, its e-savings and mortgage broking platforms, both of which are approaching renewal. Once completed the new programme will then seek to give members high-quality access to The Nottingham’s advice and services however they choose to contact the society, whether that is face-to-face in a branch, by using a digital format or a combination of both.

Starting next year, the first members to benefit from the digital enhancements will be The Nottingham’s online savings account holders who will experience a faster and more efficient service when opening, viewing, servicing and transacting on their accounts. It will also give enhanced data security and improved self-service options.

The Nottingham generates virtually all of its mortgage business via brokers; therefore it is vital to its success to make it easy for brokers to do business with the society. Following implementation, brokers placing business with The Nottingham will have access to an improved, market-leading mortgage platform. As a result, they will benefit from a more modern and responsive system that will streamline processes to give faster turnaround times and enhanced data security. This is in addition to the excellent personal support brokers have come to expect from The Nottingham.

The Nottingham’s decision to invest in digital transformation demonstrates how technology is changing consumer behaviour and their increasing expectations of flexibility, accessibility and convenience in all aspects of life.

By enhancing its digital capabilities, The Nottingham is seeking to deliver its unique advice and service proposition to its customers online, face-to-face or any combination their customers choose. This will enable the society to be relevant to a far greater number of members and potential new customers throughout its heartland, which already has 60 branches in 10 counties – a branch network that has doubled in the past four years. 

The Nottingham has selected Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), to deliver the transformation programme which, over time, will incorporate every element of the society’s customer operations.

David Marlow, Chief Executive of The Nottingham, said: “The big driver for moving to an omni-channel solution is feedback from our members who, with access to technologies such as social media, smartphones and tablets, are increasingly demanding a more joined-up experience when they deal with us.

“We also want to be in a position to attract new customers of all ages to take advantage of our unique brand of service, advice and value. We need to offer greater choice in how customers can access our products and services – be that face-to-face, over the telephone, using digital technology, or any combination of all of these.

“The insight we will be able to derive from a single view of our existing membership and their interactions with the society will enable us to more effectively service our members with relevant help and advice to build relationships and to communicate with them in the way they choose.

“It is also really important that our mortgage brokers can access our services quickly and easily and support their clients through a system that provides top quality data security. This is why it will be one of the first deliverables of the programme.

“We are delighted to be working with Salesforce to deliver our transformation programme.  Their philosophy of focusing on the customer and harnessing the power of technology to improve the overall customer experience complements our own vision to make the society easier for our customers and members to do business with.”

Gavin Mee, Senior Vice President and Head of U.K at Salesforce, said: “Using Salesforce, The Nottingham will be able to deliver a truly modern and secure omni-channel customer experience that helps drive the next phase of its business growth. We’re excited to be a part of The Nottingham’s comprehensive digital transformation programme and look forward to supporting their vision for delivering service when and where the customer wants.”