T. Rowe Price Case Study

Creating a Customer-Centric Organization

The Challenge

T. Rowe Price, a provider of investment management services to individuals and institutions around the world, worked with Prophet to develop a brand strategy to help it compete more effectively in its complex and evolving market. Understanding that employees are the linchpin in delivering a truly differentiated customer experience, T. Rowe Price sought Prophet's assistance to communicate the brand internally.

Our Solution

Prophet worked with T. Rowe Price leaders to gain consensus on the most critical points of interaction with customers and how to best deliver the brand promise at these touchpoints. This analysis also highlighted the critical employees that influence the customer experience. Prophet then helped develop a strategic framework for communicating the brand to other employees within the organization. This included providing an internal segmentation approach as well as establishing overarching principles for consistently and effectively communicating the brand internally. T. Rowe Price brand managers then implemented specific strategies for each segment and tapped creative resources to develop an engaging, multi-level campaign. Event planners and corporate training specialists were also brought in to help implement the plan.

Results

As an outgrowth of this work, T. Rowe Price has experienced active executive support for branding efforts, has increased centrally coordinated brand planning and execution, has been able to align key touchpoints, and has increased organizational consensus and momentum. Employee understanding of the company's position and breadth of offerings has increased dramatically (specific scores are confidential) and is now incorporated in annual planning and other ongoing efforts. T. Rowe Price's enhanced focus on customer service and performance has helped it earn the number one spot in Brand Keys' Fund Rankings in 2002 — garnering the largest increase in loyalty of any company surveyed. Other honors also include Financial News' European Institutional Marketing Firm of the Year in 2003.