I led a project in South Korea with the business goal of growing the expat segment (foreigners living in Korea).  Starting from user research and pain points, I spent days and weeks visiting multiple Citi and competitor branches just to observe the type of customer interactions that were happening at the branch level (our primary distribution channel).  I also interviewed the branch staff on their experiences dealing with foreigners - what's the process, how long did it take, what forms customers were filling out, and lots of whys.  Going through this exercise was extremely helpful for me to gain a deeper understanding of the user flow and existing service models.

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Besides the branches, the phone and the internet channels were secondary channels that mainly served the purpose of providing customer support and displaying product and logistics type of information.  And yes, keep in mind that digital channel was not as prominent in 2012, and the Korean government required account opening in person (KYC requirement).  

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We uncovered some major pain points and prioritized based on customer and business impact, considering the amount of efforts & feasibility.  The themes we chose included streamlining account opening process, debit card immediate issuance, and a new process for business banking team to directly refer VIP clients to designated branch staff with english service capability. 

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