By: Joe Gillen
Most banks and credit unions are striving to improve their customers' satisfaction levels to build a loyal customer base and attract new members. New customer satisfaction research reveals that consumers in both the United States and United Kingdom are considerably more confident in and happy with their banking institution.
According to the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) in the U.K. and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in the U.S., positive consumer sentiment increased among those surveyed in 2012. Satisfaction increased to an industry index of 77 in the U.S. and 74 in the U.K. Community banks and credit unions drive many positive sentiments about U.S. banks, and this trend was also the case in both the U.S. and U.K studies. The study found that strong customer service and personalized attention were the driving forces behind a large shift away from national institutions and toward local banks and credit unions. The latter in particular hit several new benchmarks in 2012 regarding membership, assets and overall value.�
"Big banks must change the way they do business," said Claes Fornell, ACSI founder and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. "If they don't, they will continue to lose customers. To compete with smaller financial institutions, they need to decentralize their services. Local branches know their customers best."
Big banks catching on, urge representatives to be friendlier
The results of several recent studies reveals that some large banks are beginning to see the damaging effects that poor customer service has on its ability to retain and attract customers. For example, Bank of America CEO�Brian Moynihan recently sent a personalized letter to each and every one of the company's 270,000 employees - racking up postage costs of nearly $100,000 - urging them to improve customer service. Bank of America has consistently received poor reviews from customers in recent years, and has experienced a large migration of customers to other institutions as a result. The crux of the letter focused on improving communication with customers, a core issue that has been a source of complaint at many national banks who also received low satisfaction ratings.�
The cost of implementing simple tips - such as serving complimentary coffee and tea or even greeting customers by name - is small, but these habits can have large payoffs when customers walk out with a good experience.�