Building customer promises for STØ

When society’s backbone is up for election

The challenge

Stø AS is the company behind BankID (20 years strong), BankAxept (30+ years), KYC services, and other digital infrastructure that keeps Norwegian society running smoothly. The majority of Norwegians and more than 1,500 companies use their services daily.

But the company was growing, regulations changing and faced with an uncomfortable truth: "must-have" products are shifting toward a "can choose" market.

Stø needed customer promises that would help them achieve three critical things:

  1. Relevant positioning with clear differentiation in the market

  2. Direction for everyday work including product and service development

  3. A bridge between strategic compass, brand identity, and communication.

The RISK

Framework fatigue is real. Especially when you're working with multiple stakeholders, a company in rapid growth mode, the pressure to balance thoroughness with speed, and a team that's seen plenty of initiatives.

Nobody needs a beautiful strategy document gathering digital dust.

OUR APPROACH

We created a solid plan to combat these risks, including a comprehensive involvement strategy. We focused insight before intentions. Building understanding and inspiration.

Inside STØ

  • 23+ Insight interviews

  • Quantitative feedback

  • Multiple workshops with 6-45 people

  • Breakfast meetings designed for learning and dialogue

  • All hands sessions

  • Close ongoing dialogue

Outside STØ

  • Deep dive into all available insights

  • Customer talks

  • Competitive analysis

  • Market research

"The real test of any strategy is whether people own it. After this process, people across Stø don't just understand the customer promises—they helped build them


— Liban Farah, Stø AS

THE DELIVERY

We didn't just deliver pretty slides (though yes, the slides were complimented). Swoon delivered:      

  • Customer promises built on insight

  • Clear KPIs to ensure goal achievement

  • Implementation plan with concrete initiatives at company level

  • Complete anchoring all the way

THe IMPACT

The customer promises were approved by the leadership team and became one of the company goals for 2026. Customer Promises are internally implemented. External implementation kicks off in 2026. That's when 1,500 companies won't just use Stø—they'll actively choose them.

Customer promises (kundeløfter-prosjektet) was highlighted by employees as the coolest project they had been working with this year

From

MUST Have

To

WANT TO HAVE

Liban Farah, Head of Sales & Partnerships, STØ

“I've led through multiple strategic transformations. This was different. Swoon struck the balance between involving people and maintaining momentum. Every workshop added value and the process was tailored to our needs along the way. The customer promises we landed on came from real insight. That's what gives these promises lasting value."