Turning the most challenging problems into game-changing growth strategies is this global consulting company's expertise. It acts as the preferred thought partner for highly selective and elite clients in world-class corporations, private equity firms, and governments. The firm's mission is to help executives make more informed strategic and operational decisions by incorporating external insight and analysis with a fact-based approach.
Technology, innovation, and shifting consumer behaviors are transforming the banking and payments industry. Digital-first banking experiences are at the heart of the transformation. Consumers now almost exclusively interact digitally with their banks, whether it's through contactless payments, biometric authentication, or APIs.
Seeking to maintain its competitive edge in an increasingly digital landscape, a financial services client approached the leading consulting company. The client wanted to expand its market presence in Latin America. Since the pandemic, the region has seen consumers become more technologically savvy and mobile, making innovation in payments and lending more urgent.
In response, it created a Digital First Card solution. Unlike a physical card, a Digital First Card solution enables consumers to apply and enroll for a card digitally. Saved in a digital wallet, consumers can transact virtually anywhere. And similar to a physical card, consumers can enjoy additional perks and loyalty benefits.
The financial services client, however, needed help to craft the best go-to-market strategy for its new product. By having a better grasp of the market, including geo-specific insights and in-depth market research, the company could tailor the solution for the market to drive the best results.
The leading consulting firm realized it needed to engage external resources to get the job done due to the lack of internal resources available. Because the project was a top priority, it needed a high-performing resource quickly.
A partner at the global consulting company had heard about Graphite from a colleague. Intrigued, the partner decided to dig deeper into the platform, reaching out to a Graphite Account Executive (AE) to receive a demo.
Excited by the depth of the expert network, the vetting process, and the prospect of finding a candidate within 48 hours, the partner decided to use Graphite to find an independent consultant with retail banking insight, financial industry knowledge, and fluency in Spanish.
They needed a seasoned expert who could:
The AE worked with the company to understand the project needs and scope the assignment accurately. Once the project was defined, the AE posted the role on Graphite which outlined the specifics of the role and the prerequisites required.
The AE shortlisted three of the 395 experts with relevant sector and functional skills to present to the client. The client then used Graphite's in-app messaging tool to communicate with each candidate before selecting a Spanish-speaking independent expert with more than 10 years of experience working with banks in Latin America.
As a CEO/CFO of a consulting company primarily leading private equity and investment banking projects, the candidate brought over 15 years of experience in real estate, finance, operations, marketing, and capital raising expertise.
Equipped with Spanish as their first language, the expert leveraged their contacts and resources in-market to source personnel from commercial and retail banks to interview. The expert then conducted 10 in-depth phone conversations with executives from various Tier 2 commercial and retail banks in Latin America.
To extract the necessary information to inform the financial services company’s go-to-market strategy, the expert candidate focused on :
What emerged from the conversations was a thorough report on how banks in Latin America are adapting their businesses to digital-first consumers. From there, the banking expert synthesized the qualitative research and developed a summary and recommendations for how to tailor the Digital First Card for the market.
The financial services client implemented the go-to-market strategic recommendations, making it easy for customers to bank in a digital-focused world.
When entering a new market, it pays to have someone on your team with expertise in that area. It's why this global consulting firm onboarded a banking expert with Latin American experience on Graphite to lead their financial services client's go-to-market launch for its new Digital-First Card solution.
Eager to onboard a team that could achieve results within six months, the client and their dedicated Graphite account manager partnered to determinze the specifications for each of the four roles. They were: