Business & Money | Monday 4 July, 2016 4:19 pm |

Emirates NBD, one of the leading banks in the region, today announced a partnership with LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking service, to leverage the power of social media to undertake strategic advisory and selling.

The bank, a front-runner in digital banking in the UAE, will use ‘Sales Navigator’ LinkedIn’s sales solution tool to enhance customer engagement, interaction and prospecting through proactive, targeted identification and communication.

Sales Navigator uses a sophisticated algorithm to provide customised lead recommendations and insights to licensed users. LinkedIn will license a select number of Emirates NBD users and equip them with intensive training on socially-led online public relations, leveraging the LinkedIn platform.

Commenting on the partnership, Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD said:  “At Emirates NBD, we believe strongly in the power of digital tools and social media to enhance the overall customer experience. We are pleased to partner with LinkedIn to create a digitally savvy team that can actively understand and identify the best opportunities for their clients. Sales Navigator will help us refine our advisory capabilities through a precise and targeted approach.”

LinkedIn estimates that relationship managers, wealth advisors and sales staff using Sales Navigator have reported up to 70% improvement in productivity. Further, the company states that social selling leaders create 45% more opportunities, are 51% more likely to reach quota and outsell peers who don’t use social media by 78%.

Dylan Sharkey, Head of Sales Solutions, LinkedIn MENA, said; “In today’s competitive business environment, sales teams want tools and tactics that give them an edge in reaching their targets. LinkedIn’s unique social selling solutions will complement Emirates NBD’s existing business strategy by helping employees grow their portfolio, leverage a wider network of partners, and enhance client services over the long term.”

 

Emirates NBD was recently ranked 17 among all global banks active on social media in 2015, the only bank in the Middle East region to claim a spot in the top 25 ranking for the second year running in the ‘Power 100 Social Media Rankings’ compiled by The Financial Brand. Additionally, the bank was ranked 7 for most YouTube views and 32 on Top 100 banks on Twitter with over 62,000 followers, in the independent survey that calculates ranking based on Facebook ‘likes,’ Facebook ‘engagement rate,’ Twitter followers, Tweets sent, YouTube views and YouTube subscribers. The bank has a global fan-base on over 500,000 on Facebook, making Emirates NBD the largest followed bank on Facebook in the UAE.