Brand Image Matters when Selecting a Retail Bank

July 14, 2009:  J.D. Power and Associates released today their inaugural 2009 Retail Bank Shopping Study(SM) which examines the bank shopping and selection process, as well as customer satisfaction with the account initiation and on-boarding processes.

The study found that the most important driver for selecting a bank is bank's brand image (36%), while branch proximity (21%) and products and services (14%) also considerably influence a consumer's selection.

"Some crucial aspects of a bank's brand image, such as perceived financial stability and reliability, an be difficult for a bank to improve, which negatively affect the bank's likelihood of being selected," said Michael Beird, director of the banking practice at J.D. Power and Associates.  "However, branch employees can positively impact a bank's brand image by providing personal service, communicating proactively and having a customer-driven focus. These three aspects combined account for 15 percent of importance in the shopping process, which is even greater than the importance of bank products and services."

The study also found that the top reason for not considering a particular bank was because of a previous poor service experience with that bank.  Other factors for avoiding a particular bank include issues with branch location and operating hours, as well as perceived high rates and fees.

"Many customers who shop for a new bank have had prior exposure to a bank's service as non-customers through experiences such as cashing checks or getting product information," said Beird.  "As a result, banks can use visits by non-customers as an opportunity to showcase their services and improve consideration when these customers shop for a new bank."

When considering the components of brand awareness, the study found that positive word-of-mouth was the most significant factor, accounting for 36% of importance weight.  

"Word-of-mouth recommendations have the power to influence both awareness and the probability that customers will consider a bank in their shopping process," said Beird.  "This only underscores the importance of banks providing an exceptional service experience to customers and non-customers alike."

This J.D. Power study also found that satisfaction with the account initiation process increases considerably when bank employees perform simple actions to improve the service experience when opening a new account, including:
  • Greeting the customer when entering the branch
  • keeping wait time to five minutes or less
  • Calling the customer by name, and
  • Providing the customer with a detailed needs assessment.
Among the 19% of customers who experienced all these actions, satisfaction scores average 890 on a 1,000-point scale, 84 points above the industry average.  In addition, the percentage of customers who say they "definitely will" reuse the bank for future products and services increases to 66%, compared with an industry average of 47%.

"Making customers feel welcome throughout the new-account process and asking focused questions targeted to their specific needs and requirements are relatively easy elements that every banker responsible for new accounts should perform regularly," Beird said.  "The low percentages of customers who report experiencing these behaviors highlight improvement opportunities for all banks."

The 2009 Retail Bank Shopping Study is based on responses from more than 7,500 consumers who shopped for a new banking account or new primary financial institution during the past 12 months.  The study was fielded in February and March 2009, and includes 25 banks: Bank of America; Bank of the West; BBVA Compass; Branch Banking & Trust; Capital One; Chase; Citibank; Citizens Bank; Comerica; Fifth Third; HSBC; Huntington National Bank; KeyBank; M&T Bank; National City; PNC Bank; Regions Bank; Sovereign Bank; SunTrust; TD Bank; U.S. Bank; Union Bank of California; Wachovia; WaMu; and Wells Fargo.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Source: PR Newswire and J.D. Power and Associates

Posted by Mark Rodrigues at 7/16/2009 11:26 AM
Categories: Psychology, Onboarding, Customer Satisfaction
Tags: onboarding
 

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  • 7/27/2010 7:37 AM Ric wrote:
    Dear Sir/Madam,

    I am very pleased that you have done an excellent survey that is very much to my subject interest. I am currently working on an academic research along this line and because of this reason, I humbly request for a sample of your survey questionnaire to study and adapt where appropriate. It is strictly for academic research.

    Rest assured this is for educational use and NOT intended for any business, money making or competition purpose.

    If there is any eventual use of your ideas/sample, your company name will be mentioned for recognition and acknowledgement purpose.

    I seek your understanding and look forward to a positive response.

    Thanking you in advance,

    Ric
    Reply to this

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