Small, medium or large?

That’s a familiar question at a fast-food restaurant or clothing store – but at a bank? Yet it’s exactly the approach ING Bank is taking in its consumer lending business in Turkey. In an attempt to make banking easier, ING Bank Turkey is now offering personal loans in four different sizes: S, M, L, or XL.

Consumers interested in taking out a loan can determine the right “size” in several ways. On the ING Bank Turkey website or through the call center, they can learn more about each loan product. Or, if they visit a branch, they’re asked to complete a short questionnaire to determine which loan size best fits their needs. A relationship manager then helps the client complete the loan application on-the-spot, and the customer receives the money latest within next two days.

Customers are also offered other banking products related to their loan request, such as an overdraft facility, credit card or life insurance.

Each branch is being positioned as a “boutique”. If you had the chance to walk by an ING Bank branch in Istanbul or any other major city during July ,you would have seen life-size mannequins in the windows wearing S, M ,L,XL T-shirts, as well as signs announcing “Sale” and 70% Savings”.

“We want to make the process of getting a loan as simple as going into a supermarket or another store,” says Cem Muratoglu, Executive Vice President Consumer Banking Marketing. “We have packaged these loans so that customers have the feeling that they have control over the process, just like any other retail experience.”

Customers seem to like the idea. Since the launch of the product, 80,000 loan packages have been sold. So far, the most popular size has been “Small”, equivalent to a loan of TRY 2500 (approximately EUR 1186), followed by Medium (TRY 5000).

The process is supported by aggressive CRM efforts. 800,000 customers were contacted since the launch ( via sms,e-mail,in bound telephone banking, e-branch ) and 15 % of the packages have been sold through this marketing strategy.

Since the launch, new customer acquisition has also reached 40%.

ING acquired Oyak Bank in 2007 and rebranded it to ING Bank Turkey in 2008. It has 1.2 million retail customers and operates through 359 branches.