According to Forrester's 2022 European Banking Customer Experience Index (1), the main factors influencing customer loyalty in banking are quick resolutions of customer issues, efficient response to customer questions, plain language customer communication and fast transaction processing. These are all expectations that require interaction with a bank advisor.
1. A need for proximity and omnichannel
Despite the strong digitalisation of the sector and the emergence of online banks, retail banking remains a sector where human support is essential. Knowing that 76% of customers challenge their bank every 1 to 5 years on the occasion of a loan service (2), bank advisors have every interest in providing their customers with a personalised relationship to mitigate the risk of attrition.
In addition to the need for proximity, there is also the need for an omnichannel approach. Customers expect easy and almost instantaneous access to their bank advisor in a world where the amount of channels used by customers has grown substantially.
2. Getting to know customers better
Faced with a wide range of banking establishments, consumers are also becoming increasingly versatile: with 31% of Brits having two bank accounts, while 19% have three. And one in ten individuals has four or more bank accounts. Of those individuals with at least two bank accounts, 23% said they opened an additional account for a better digital offering, while 24% opened an account for better customer service. (KPMG)
Worse still, A fifth (20%) of UK individuals last visited a bank branch before the Covid-19 pandemic. (KPMG)
This is a significant risk that must be addressed as a matter of urgency. How can we detect the risk of customers leaving? By learning more about their reasons for dissatisfaction and by (re)creating a strong bond with them.
3. Establish a real intensity within customer relationships
Maintaining a close relationship with customers over the long term depends on interaction. The idea is to multiply the opportunities to interact and establish a real relational intensity.
This can be achieved through customer feedback collected via a review management platform such as Goodays Thanks to this, bank advisors can detect "relational motives" more easily to re-engage the relationship. Financing a property, buying a car, diversifying investments or preparing for retirement... These are all key moments and projects for customers that it will be possible to detect and on which bank advisors can capitalise to transform these new opportunities into transactions.
4. Taking an interest in all customers
For advisors and their managers, customer opinions also give them a real-time view of customer satisfaction and enable them to readjust certain processes within the branches. This direct access to the Voice of the Customer also helps branch managers to pass on areas for improvement and customer compliments to their teams.
Beware, however, of the framework in which customer opinions are solicited. Too often, those who visit the branch receive a post-visit satisfaction questionnaire. The only problem is knowing the satisfaction level of customers who have a remote relationship with their bank.
The challenge is all the greater as these "unseen customers" are generally more dissatisfied (up to 1 point less on the satisfaction score compared to other customers who come to the branch (4)). It's therefore important to create other opportunities to gather their opinions so they are not forgotten about.
Whatever the issue, one key point stands out: your branch advisors have a key role to play in your customer relations strategy.
(1) Forrester's 2022 European Banking Customer Experience
(2) KPMG, 2020
(3) KPMG 2022
(4) Critizr, 2022
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