Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), headquartered in Vienna, is one of Austria’s leading corporate and investment banks and operates eleven subsidiary banks in Central and Eastern Europe. Around six years ago, RBI faced the challenge of harmonizing the isolated CRM approaches of its national subsidiaries. “Although they were largely able to identify target groups, they lacked cross-channel communication tools and the ability to personalize. Customer communication was often limited to impersonal mass emails or text messages, but there was no powerful, standardized orchestration approach for the entire network,“ reports Jalal Douame, Head of Digital Banking and Conversational AI at RBI. ”To close this gap, we chose Salesforce Marketing Cloud with extensions for mobile and web personalization. Our goal was to address customers individually, contextually, and automatically via digital channels, both in the app and on the web,” adds Igor Sopcak, Head of Customer Engagement Platforms & Products at RBI.
Our Trailblazer Igor Sopcak on …
… a shared vision for all markets
“To be successful across countries, you need more than just technology. We knew we needed an agile, firmly anchored operating model – a central vehicle. That’s why we founded the Retail Customer Engagement Tribe. We didn’t want a centrally imposed solution, but rather an offering that countries would embrace with conviction – with a clear vision, reusability, and end-to-end responsibility. With our Tribe, we take a holistic approach: business, IT, and data experts work together under one roof. We use a multi-tenant architecture, a central data model, and a shared Marketing Cloud instance with individual business units for each country, enabling us to scale innovations efficiently. At the same time, it was important to us to create a shared vision for all markets: because our goal is not just to sell, but to strengthen customer engagement across all digital channels. Implementation remains flexible, but the strategic direction is consistent. Salesforce is the technological basis for us to combine standardization with local adaptability.”
… about digital banking with a personalized wow effect
“With Salesforce Digital Commerce, we have reached a new level: our mobile app shows customers a personalized home page. A/B testing, banner personalization, and campaigns can be implemented in just a few clicks, whereas it used to take months. This has not only significantly improved our conversion and user experience, but also attracted international attention: Gartner calls our model “a global best practice,” and even the Harvard Business Review has reported on it. Basically, we are creating an experience similar to online shopping, but for financial services. This is not only technological progress, but a real game changer for our industry.”
Our Trailblazer Jalal Doume on…
… the business impact of journey thinking and continuous learning
“A powerful platform like Salesforce is just the beginning. What matters is how consistently and effectively you use it. That’s why we founded the Customer Value Management (CVM) unit—with the goal of thinking beyond technology to business enablement. Today, we manage group-wide programs such as new customer acquisition and cross-selling with clear KPIs and coordinated rollout plans. Campaigns are no longer isolated email campaigns, but intelligent, automated journeys based on real customer behavior. This results in targeted customer loyalty and measurable growth. This is a real paradigm shift that has also motivated other national banks to join in. A key lever in this process was the establishment of the CVM Academy: not just one-off training, but sustainable skills development. Now in its third year, it has been recognized as the best learning program in Europe and is a strategic growth driver. Our colleagues are trained through mentoring, Salesforce certifications, and practical units on topics such as journey design, behavioral science, and digital commerce. Many of today’s power users and experts started their journey there; the Academy has turned users into real creators.”
… on artificial intelligence as a pioneer for personalized financial agents
“Our vision is clear: we want to move from classic CRM logic to an intelligent, data-driven customer experience platform. Artificial intelligence is the key to this, whether through voice-controlled target group selection, automated content creation, or even personal digital assistants for our customers in the future. Initial features such as Einstein Send Time Optimization and Journey Optimization are already in use. The key is that we combine technological innovation with operational excellence, cultural change, and strategic clarity—and that makes us one of the digital pioneers in European banking.”
