By: Joe Gillen
For every business and financial industry in the world, customer acquisition and retention is generally synonymous with high levels of satisfaction on the part of the consumer. Many banks and credit unions generally rely on customer satisfaction studies to measure their members' level of positive or negative sentiment. However, a new analysis in American Banker noted that financial institutions should looks beyond good customer service and satisfaction scores to truly gauge their customers' level of loyalty.
The article noted that many of these internal scoring models are not representative of all customer experiences, and may therefore give financial institutions an inaccurate understanding of their clients. This may occur for several reasons. For example, these studies may not take into account whether underserved demographics are treated in the same manner as traditional banking customers. In addition, the studies may also fail to acknowledge potential differences in the treatment of affluent and multi-channel customers versus minorities or those with single accounts. Finally, these studies may also be a poor indicator of whether customers are receiving all of the information they need on products and services to make informed financial decisions. As customers may not always realize they are not receiving sufficient information, it can be difficult for studies to pick up on this issue.
Resolving these issues and getting more accurate measurements
To eliminate the possibility of skewed reports, there are a number of actions banks and credit unions can take to provide a more objective analysis to their customer satisfaction research. For example, mystery shopping has historically been effective in measuring the sentiment and treatment of a broader demographic of customers. Mystery shoppers also tend to interact with a bank via several different channels, including in person, online and through phone calls. This can provide a more comprehensive measurement of good customer service.
Internal actions, such as customer complaint monitoring and audits of sales and service teams, may serve as another objective indicator of consumer sentiment, the new source notes. Banks and credit unions may also benefit from utilizing social media and online channels to better connect with customers. Many people use these mediums to write reviews, compare banks and discuss products. Monitoring and, when warranted, responding to these discussions can help financial institutions better understand consumer sentiment and what drives customers' banking decisions.