The key role of employees in making customers more loyal : The case of Discount Bank, Israel

Purpose – Details the key role of employees in improving customer loyalty at Discount Bank, Israel. Design/methodology/approach – Explains why strategic change was needed at the bank and how its management settled on the concept of direct banking relationships as the foundation for the reforms. Findings – Describes the three levels of loyalty that managers identified – first creating good feelings toward the bank, then moving towards satisfied and finally appreciative clients – and explains the steps that managers took to achieve these levels of loyalty in practice. Practical implications – Reveals that the strategy helped the bank to recruit more than 300,000 new customers in three years. Social implications – Highlights how service organizations can benefit from drawing customers into a close relationship with their employees. Originality/value – Claims that direct banking relationships are new in the financial‐services sector.