While Majority of Banking Customers Satisfied with Their Retail Banks, a Renewed Focus Still Needed on Customer Experience According to 2011 World Retail Banking Report.(Report)

Despite low levels of confidence in the banking industry, the majority (59 percent) of customers are satisfied with their banks, according to the eighth annual World Retail Banking Report released by Capgemini, UniCredit and Efma. New to this year's report is the introduction of the Capgemini Retail Banking Customer Experience Index (CEI), which gauges how customers perceive the quality of their interactions with their banks across three dimensions: products, channels and customer transactions1. Among the key findings of the CEI is that the retail branch remains an important channel for consumers despite the growing popularity of internet banking; however, the branch's role must evolve to meet changing customer needs. The CEI was developed based on a survey of nearly 14,000 bank customers across 25 countries, as well as nearly 50 in-depth interviews with senior banking executives worldwide2. It reveals that receiving superior service is far more important to customers than their bank's reputation. Globally, only 27 percent of customers said brand image is a major contributor to leaving a bank, whereas 55 percent cited service quality. As previous factors - including low prices and innovative products - are quickly losing their ability to provide a competitive edge, delivering a positive customer experience is one of the few differentiators banks can use to stand out in today's market.

According to the CEI, banks' success overall in delivering positive customer experiences is high, with an average rating of 72.2 out of 100. In North America, U.S. banks were rated the highest with a score of 78.0; Switzerland led Europe with 76.2 and India ranked highest in Asia-Pacific with 77.0. However, banks have been much less successful when it comes to delivering positive experiences on the products, channels and banking interactions that are most important to customers. Overall, only 35.8 percent of customers had a positive experience on factors they highlighted as most important to their banking experience. "Capgemini's CEI was built with the understanding that a gap exists between what banks perceive as important to customers and what customers say is most important," said Jean Lassignardie, Global Head of Sales and Marketing, Capgemini Financial Services. "The CEI seeks to align the product, life cycle, and delivery channel capabilities of banks with the values and standards of their customers, providing banks with additional insights to set better business and channel strategies." Banks need to focus on customer experience across banking channels According to the CEI, banks are seeing the largest gap in meeting customers' needs in the area of banking channels. Customers in different regions have varying perceptions of the importance of different channels. Local factors, such as a country's technological infrastructure, and customer comfort and experience with technology are important variables. Banks need to identify the channels that are most important to their customers and offer the most positive experiences for those specific channels.

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This article was prepared by Journal of India editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Journal of India via VerticalNews.com.