A boutique multinational consultancy that helps clients create unique and memorable customer experiences that lead to sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships. Finishing a transformational consulting engagement at AlfaBank in Russia, Michael realized that there was a distinct need to take the principles and theory explained in the book, “The Experience Economy” by B. Joseph Pine II, and appl
y them to the retail banking industry. After listening to the disparate pieces of information in the bankers’ presentations, Michael found that there was little understanding of how to design, build, measure, and manage a retail banking business to provide unique, engaging, and fulfilling customer experiences. As well, there was a lack of understanding of how to manage ongoing customer relationships in any way other than purely the contractual elements of product sales and servicing. By Spring 2006, the ideas scrawled on a hotel notepad had taken shape and Senteo was officially in business with the first version of the Senteo methodology. The company started out with a few employees and quickly grew to 30. Before the financial crisis in 2008, Senteo employed 150 people in five countries. During the financial crisis, the company downsized but stayed afloat and committed to the concept that banks and customers can co-exist in mutually beneficial relationships. In 2013, the Senteo partners agreed to invest in several start-up and existing business ventures as another venue to benefit from the Senteo methodology. They also dedicated a significant amount of time and investment to expand the Senteo Education business line. This expansion completed what the partners believe is a harmonious balance between consulting, education, and business ventures and allows for optimal team development and use of the Senteo methodology and experience. Senteo regularly delivers courses on customer experience, relationship management, financial literacy, gamification, and innovation along with many other topics. CEO Michael Ruckman is a guest lecturer and has taught short-term courses at several Universities and Business Schools. He is also a frequent speaker as well as a keynote speaker at conferences organized by Bank Administration Institute, European Financial Management Association, Lafferty Global Events, International Council of Shopping Centers, Customer Experience Forum, CRM Solutions, Customer Day and others. Michael Ruckman is known as the author and main presenter of the following courses:
Customer Experience Certification Program, a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises designed specifically to help professionals to understand the principles of Customer Experience, Customer Relationships, and Loyalty (2 100 certified people in 16 countries, rated global best by Forrester Research). Customer Experience Training, that highlights the key areas where “front-line customer experience” is needed the most in order to gain trust and loyalty among customers (more than 30,000 participants in 7 countries). Relationship-Centric Business Transformation program comprised of 29 topics for business transformation in the evolution from product centric to customer-centric and, eventually, relationship-centric. This course can be delivered specifically for top management or may be delivered along with cascaded courses for middle management. In this new economy, Senteo’s mission to help companies transform their businesses and create long-term relationships with customers is more relevant than ever. In fact, the most recent version of the Senteo methodology is focused not only on individual customer experiences, but the nature and health of the relationships that emerge with ongoing contact between the customer and the provider. These new developments have led us to coin the term “relationship-centricity,” which we believe is the natural evolutionary step after customer-centricity. Senteo is now on a new path of growth, dedicated to helping businesses banks, retailers, HoReCa, technology companies, telecoms, manufacturers, and even governments to enhance the quality of their relationships with customers through meaningful experiences (B2B, B2C, B2G, G2C, G2B). Please click here to see a selection of our projects. Senteo, together with CEO Michael Ruckman, has experience with over 300 projects for clients in over 30 countries, from start-ups to market leaders, and has worked with 15 of the top 100 banking brands, and 13 of the top 100 retail brands globally.
