Dec. 1, 2007 at 1:58pm

Banks aren't hated

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Banks Are Not Hated
Comments (1)

Credit unions tend to assume they provide better customer service than banks. And in the Seattle market, banks attack other “bigger” banks (Washington Mutual, Columbia and Home Street are three that come immediately to mind).

However, recent research from Quirks entitled “Investing in Advocacy” says nearly 65 percent of U.S. consumers are advocates of their bank (”advocates” are customers in the top box for both willingness to recommend and intent to open additional accounts).” In addition, “a full 88 percent have told someone something positive about their bank.” The article does not measure credit unions.

I wonder if the bank ads that attack other banks are off-target at best, and damaging to the entire banking sector at worst. And I wonder about the accuracy of credit unions’ belief that members see their customer service as superior to banks.

It’s clear that customer service is the key to getting recommended. The authors say, “Nearly two out of three advocates who told someone about their bank talked about service quality.” Branch and Internet encounters got the highest service quality ratings; ATM and call centers were the lowest. The slipping ATM ratings can be attributed to location convenience, safety, security and inadequate supplies of envelopes and pens.

Why do customers choose banks? The article’s top three reasons are:

• Providing loyal, old-fashioned service
• Giving back to the community
• Maintaining a conservative approact and a strong financial history

Do those factors also apply to credit unions? You be the judge. And if banks are claiming to provide qualities touted in “the credit union difference,” what can credit unions do to create a real difference?

Comments (1)

I think your comments are right on! I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago in case you are interested in reading my thoughts.

http://www.paymentindustryinsider.com/2007/12/kindle-the-cred.html

You’ve got a great blog and great writers, keep up the good work!
1/3/2008 at 8:05 am
1 | Left by Brian Scott | Aug. 27, 2008 at 1:34pm

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