This brings back so many memories for me. My first real exposure to stockbroking was in 2005 when I went for my IT, and I got to see the process up close.
I remember the returned share certificates especially because sometimes people couldn't remember the signatures they had used years earlier, so they had to come in physically to sort things out, or it was the name discrepancies or incomplete documentation.
Some clients even traveled down just to confirm whether their shares had been dematerialized to CSCS and most didn't because of obvious issues which had to be sorted before they could sell sold, then they had to raise the cheque after it was sold, more paperwork and more waiting.
One day, I couldn't take it anymore; the returned share certificates were all scattered in a big drawer and searching wasn't something I loved to do.
I took it upon myself to organize the returned certificates alphabetically into envelopes and also put the names alphabetically into Google slides (we called it excel then😂), so when a client came in, we could quickly find their record and file.
I also gave the clients the company's phone number and email address, instead of travelling down just to ask whether their shares had been dematerialized or sold, I could check the register and email them the update and next steps; the clients were so pleased and always preferred me attending to them anytime they came to the office.
Well, it gave me great results too and one of it was the company gave me an open cheque if i needed a place for employment once i was done with the university, i studied ICT and i didn't think i would but going for NYSC in 2008 and i was posted to a radio station, i went to get the letter in my archives😂 and served in the company's Abuja branch.
Looking back, I realised something:
Customer experience isn't always about adding something impressive. Sometimes it's simply removing the unnecessary work you've been making the customer do and I was already thinking about customer experience before I even had the language for it.
They didn't need another complicated process; they needed information, access and less friction.
The technology has changed dramatically since then but the customer expectation hasn't changed that much: make it easier for me to get what I need.
Technology simply gave us better ways to deliver that experience
The world has changed the way Nigerians make and consume money.
Just about 15 years ago, you'd send an instruction to your stock broker to trade stocks. You couldn't even monitor stock prices in real time. You had to wait for newspapers to be released the next day.
Today, you can do all these with your phone. You don't need to interact with anyone.
It's remarkable how far we've come.