(MENAFN Press) "The Customer is King" is an expression often used and never disregarded. However while the power of the customer is not underestimated, lesser attention is paid to his care and understanding, two elements important in fostering long-term relationships with customers.
These two elements apply to fields all over the world, but more importantly to sectors offering services to niche audiences. Mr. Jamsheed Hamza, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ocean, will throw light on the same, with relation to Islamic Banking at the Oman Islamic Banking and Finance Conference 2012 taking place from 5th- 6th June 2012 at the Grand Hyatt.
As the CEO of Blue Ocean Academy, Mr. Hamza brings to his role, a wealth of experience in customer service, process reengineering and corporate relations, having worked for some of the leading organisations in the Middle East. Prior to joining Blue Ocean, he held the post of the Head of Corporate Banking, Islamic Banking Division at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), where he was entrusted with improving customer service quality while also creating an ideal working environment for staff. During his career he has gained valuable experience in spearheading organisational change, problem solving and crisis management, and identifying and understanding key business drivers.
In light of the global crisis, Islamic Banking is gaining prominence with many customers switching to more risk-averse banking approaches. In addition to Mr. Hamza enlightening attendees on the role of customer care and understanding in the successful implementation of Islamic banking at the Conference, the presentation will also list out common customer complaints faced in an Islamic banking system and solutions for addressing those concerns.
Islamic Banking based on the Islamic Law or Sharia'h offers a variety of options involving different regulations and customer requirements, which calls for banks to formulate greater understanding of their customer's needs and demands in order to ensure profitable banking services. Islamic Banking provides its varied customer segments with different product, service and brand criteria.
Based on perception, customers will interpret acceptable levels of Sharia'h compliance differently. For e.g. traditional customers may be willing to pay premium for most Sharia'h compliant products but other customers may be prefer products that are less rigidly Sharia'h compliant and have more competitive rates, factors banks need to keep in mind while designing Sharia'h compliant product concepts, features, benefits, services etc. Since customer requirements are dependent upon factors like age, lifestyle, education and others, offering Sharia'h compliant products which cater to different customer segments can be in the bank's favour.
Always keen to pass on his experience, Mr. Hamza regularly addresses seminars and conferences for organisations across the world.
This has included addressing the UOP, Teens Summits, EEG and the International Islamic Banking Seminar. He has also worked as a trainer and consultant for international names namely the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Sony Middle East and Children's Film Society.
His presence at the Oman Islamic Banking and Finance Conference 2012 will help attendees walk in the shoes of an Islamic banking customer and help interested related parties develop Sharia'h compliant products, keeping the interests of their customers in mind.
