The Scarborough study, “A Look Into Atypical American Banking,” set out to explore the demographics of consumers at the far extremes of either end of the retail banking spectrum: those who don’t use banks at all, and those who use banks a lot.

Scarborough defines unbanked consumers as those who do not use a bank or credit union. Superbanked consumers are considered those who have multiple accounts at financial institutions. More specifically, Scarborough defines superbankers as having a checking, savings, money market account and CD, and at least one of the following: stocks, options, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, second home, investment property or other similar investments.

You can review Scarborough’s complete “Atypical Banking” study for free at the company’s website.

Who Are The Superbanked?

• 93% of superbanked consumers have used any credit card in the past three months. They are 25% more likely than all U.S. adults to do so.
• 75% have a money market account.
• 49% have used online banking in the past 30 days.
• 87% listened to radio in the past week.
• Superbanked consumers are twice as likely to have stocks or stock options and four times as likely to have money market funds.
• 43% of superbanked consumers with annual household income of under $50K are retired.
• 89% own a home.
• They are 64% more likely than all U.S. adults to have at least a college degree.
• Superbanked consumers are 22% more likely to be married.
• The top local markets for superbanked consumers are Fort Myers in Florida (7% of residents live in a household that is superbanked), San Francisco (7%), and Orlando (7%).

Who Are The Unbanked?

• Unbanked consumers are 11% more likely to be women, and 38% more likely to be unmarried.
• 45% of unbanked consumers have children under the age of 18 living in their household.
• 32% belong to Generation X.
• 23% of unbanked consumers have used a credit card in the past three months.
• They are more than twice as likely as all U.S. adults to use a prepaid wireless/cell phone plan.
• 7% used a check cashing service in the past year.
• Unbanked consumers are 94% more likely to watch music videos.
• The markets with the most unbanked consumers are Harlingen in Texas (17%), Fresno (17%) and Memphis (11%).

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Americans are increasingly eager for a purely digital economy as their use of cash continues to dwindle, according to the results of a survey released today by MasterCard. The survey, which asked over 1,000 participants for their two cents the growing trend towards a cashless society, gives a snapshot of Americans’ shifting views and behaviors with electronic payments.

The Frustrations of Cash
Cash is inconvenient. Most Americans experience some sort of frustration when dealing with physical payment instruments — whether that’s trying to get a vending machine to accept a crumpled bill (63%), waiting days for a check to clear (40%), waiting for people to find exact change (40%), or finding the time to get to an ATM (29%).

Time to Kill Cash?
Consumer use and acceptance of cashless payment tools is now widespread, if not the preferred payment method. Three in four Americans (73%) say they use less cash today than ten years ago. Could the U.S. kill its paper currency? Probably not today, but soon. Canada just eliminated its penny, which apparently cost 1.6 cents to make, and hardly anyone made a peep. The U.S. one-cent piece costs 2.5 cents to produce — hard to justify in a penny-pinched world. Once all that annoying loose change disappears, bills won’t be far behind.

Gen-X More Ready for Virtual Economy than Gen-Y
Despite the widely held belief that Gen-Y is always the most receptive to all things digital, MasterCard’s survey actually found that it is Generation Xers who are the most willing to abandon cash.

Members of Gen X (ages 30 to 39) — those who came of age during the advent of electronic banking, online shopping and are now in the midst of the mobile wallet revolution — are most in favor of paying for everything electronically. The majority favor a world in which they wouldn’t have to carry cash (61%). A significant portion (44%) of members of the baby boomer generation (age 55 and over) also favors a cashless society.

Digital Wallets Are the Future
There are a multitude of competing mobile payment solutions duking it out for the wallet of the future. It seems everyone is playing in the digital payments space somehow — from the usual suspects like Visa and MasterCard, to newcomers like PayPal and Google. Big banks like Barclays have also been consistent pioneers, developing one new payments innovation after another.

Lilliana Vazquez, a stylist in New York and participant in the MasterCard survey, is one of those consumers who has made the shift to mobile payments and now embraces “tap and pay” technology. “Having to stop to get cash out of an ATM or dig for money in my huge handbag slows me down and that’s never a good thing in my business,” she explained. “I thought being able to swipe my credit card was the ultimate in ease, but now all you have to do is tap and go — talk about convenience.”

Nicholas Lee, from EZ-Link Contactless in Singapore believes in the future of electronic payments over cash. “So, moving forward, if you look at projections from around the world in terms of mobile commerce, the wallet in the phone is well-positioned to really be the catalyst to move contactless payments or cashless payments in a very, very big way.”

Dirty Money
ABC News has reported 94% of bills carry bacteria, yet only one in two Americans (51%) admit that they typically wash their hands after handling money.

Cashless Twitter Promotion
On the heels of its survey, today MasterCard also announced a “Cash Less” sweepstakes which asks the question: “I find myself using cash less because…” Stories will be gathered via the Cashless Conversations blog and on Twitter using the hashtag #CashlessConvo. 15 winners will receive $50 prepaid MasterCard cards.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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One study commissioned by the Federal Reserve System examines the increasing impact mobile tools have had on consumers’ banking, budgeting, shopping and payments behaviors. The report titled “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” presents findings from an online survey with over 2,200 participants, conducted in December 2011 and January 2012. The report explores the use of mobile technologies as a means to access financial services and make financial decisions.

The study concludes that the ubiquity of mobile phones is clearly changing the way consumers access financial services. Today, 87% of the U.S. population has a mobile phone, and 44% of those are internet-enabled smartphones. 21% of mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months. Compare that to the 68% of those consumers with regular internet access and a bank account who have used online banking in the past 12 months. In simple terms, mobile banking has exploded into a channel about one-third the size/significance of online banking …and it’s still growing strong.

Checking account balances or recent transactions is the most common mobile banking activity reported by mobile banking users (90%). Transferring money between accounts is the second most common use of mobile banking (42% of mobile banking users). 12% of mobile phone owners have made a mobile payment in the past 12 months.

Consumers report using mobile banking up to 60 times per month, however, the median number of mobile banking transactions is four or five times in a typical month.

11% of those not currently using mobile banking think that they will probably use it within the next 12 months. An additional 17% of those who report that they are unlikely to adopt mobile banking in the next year say they will “definitely” or “probably” adopt mobile banking at some point. Most of those who had not yet adopted mobile banking (58%) hadn’t done so because they felt their banking needs were already being met through other channels.

Two major impediments to consumers’ adoption of mobile banking and mobile payment technologies are (1) concerns about security and (2) the possibility of hackers remotely accessing consumers’ phones. Concerns about the security of the technology were the primary reason given for not using mobile payments (42%), and the second most common reason given for not using mobile banking (48%) altogether.

Needed: More Marketing, More Tutorials and How-Tos

In another study, ath Power Consulting concluded that banks were not adequately promoting their mobile banking offerings.

“It is alarming that only 10% of users were prompted to first use their bank’s mobile channel by their actual bank,” said Frank Aloi, President and CEO of ath Power Consulting. “This indicates a clear lack of customer education, yet an obvious opportunity for banks to take initiative to promote their offerings.”

“Many people weren’t aware of some of the things that were possible,” Michael McEvoy, managing director at ath Power Consulting, told American Banker. “They didn’t know, for instance, if their bank offers remote deposit capture.”

Customer support is another facet lacking in banks’ mobile services. 40% of all mobile bankers failed to find links for technical support.

“Users feel they’re not getting the kind of mobile banking help and guidance that they’d like to have,” McEvoy points out. “Some complained about difficulty navigating the app. Some felt there was a lack of support and guidance to help if you’re not sure what to do next.”

McEvoy says easier navigation and chat tools would help banks improve uptake of mobile banking tools. He also believes banks don’t do a good job of making people feel comfortable that mobile and online channels are secure.

On the upside, the study found that mobile customers are more loyal. Only about 1 in 8 mobile banking customers say they’re thinking about changing banks some time in the next two years compared vs. 1 in 5 among the general customer base. For this reason alone, financial marketers would be wise to fuel interest in- and adoption of mobile solutions.

In the ath Power study, 70% of mobile banking users said that online banking was their primary channel of choice. 16% said mobile banking, 9% said a branch, 3% said their phone and 2% said an ATM.

Opportunities Lurking Among Gen-Y, Minorities, the Unbanked and Underbanked

The study commissioned by the Federal Reserve found that underbanked make comparatively heavy use of both mobile banking and mobile payments, with 29% having used mobile banking and 17% having used mobile payments in the last year. 10% of the completely unbanked report using mobile banking in the past 12 months, and 12% have made a mobile payment. 62% of the underbanked who use mobile payments have used it to pay bills.

Mobile phone penetration is high among younger generations, minorities, and those with low incomes — groups that are commonly unbanked or underbanked. For instance, 89% of African Americans and 86% of Hispanics own a mobile phone, and they are far more likely to have smart phones than Caucasians.

Unsurprisingly, mobile phone adoption is highest for younger age groups: only 5% of individuals ages 18 to 24 do not have a mobile phone, and half have a smartphone.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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While the majority of top banks have iPad and Android apps, three financial institutions — BofA, Citi and USAA — have emerged as tablet banking market leaders. Financial institutions can use Javelin’s analysis of market data on tablets, consumer’s behaviors and preferences, changing market share of operating platforms, and key recommendations to develop winning strategies for the tablet banking market.

BofA, Citi and USAA have each pursued a different strategy in tablet banking. BofA leads with native — or tablet-optimized — apps.While a majority of the top 25 banks have iPad and Android apps, less than 20% have native tablet apps specifically designed for the iPad, Android or Kindle Fire (Android-based platform) versus ported over smartphone apps. BofA is the only financial institution that has rolled out native apps for the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Android platforms.

Citi has made its presence felt in tablet banking with their Kindle Fire app by providing effective and intuitive personal financial management tools that appeal to tablet consumers in “layback mode” to help them better analyze their account spending and set goals and budgets.

Meanwhile, USAA has the top-ranked tablet banking apps and received the highest consumer rating on Apple’s App Store.

“Financial institutions should first optimize their mobile sites for tablets because most tablet owners access their bank accounts using browsers,” said Mary Monahan, EVP and Research Director, Mobile at Javelin. “Only then should financial institutions deliver an enhanced experience and deepen customer relationships with downloadable apps. Our report provides a risk/reward framework so financial institutions can identify cost-effective solutions for optimization across platforms and allocate resources accordingly.”

“Financial institutions will need to consider which tablet strategy will deliver the best return on investment in this rapidly developing and changing market,” said Jim Van Dyke, President, Javelin. “We deliver key insights and data on tablet consumer demographics, behavior, devices, and operating platforms, so financial institutions can effectively target tablet bankers and offer the right mix of tablet banking services.”

Javelin’s 2012 Tablet and Banking Report explores how banks and credit unions can succeed in the tablet banking market, and provides key recommendations to prioritize and develop strategies.

Selected Key Report Findings – Tablets:

• Apple holds the top market share with 55%.
• Amazon’s Kindle Fire captured 10% of the tablet market in just a few months.
• Tablet owners have higher rates of mobile person-to-person transfers.
• Tablet owners are young (25-44), wealthy (incomes exceed $100,000 and have more investable assets), and use many bank products.

About Javelin Strategy & Research

Javelin Strategy & Research provides strategic insights into customer transactions, increasing sustainable profits for financial institutions, government, payments companies, merchants and other technology providers. Javelin’s independent insights result from a uniquely rigorous three-dimensional research process that assesses customers, providers, and the transactions ecosystem.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Channel Preferences

Despite growth in online and digital tools, branches remain popular, with 64% saying it is their channel of choice. Almost three quarters (73%) of customers in the US, UK, Germany and Spain see their local branch as a vital link to their bank, second only to cash machines.

Key Takeaway: People think branches are more important than they actually are. Paradoxically, they say they need branches, even though they don’t use them.

The average number of channels used to purchase a product is 2.9. The study revealed that customers expect banks to tie all these disparate channels together, linked with their personal data.

Key Takeaway: Achieving greater channel integration should be a core priority for all retail financial institutions.

The report encourages banks to create branch experiences comparable with the retail sector, including greater use of video, hands-on demos, in-store internet terminals and WiFi. 41% of consumers say they expect access to free WiFi inside bank branches.

“Better branch design is needed and in-branch technology — e.g. self-service kiosks — should be employed,” the report recommends.

Calling the contact center remains the first stop for consumers looking to resolve a complaint or issue, although 40% say poorly constructed phone trees are a major source of frustration. 47% said they would prefer to call someone at the branch level instead of at a call center.

Key Takeaway: When digitally-savvy consumers decide online and self-service channels won’t suffice, they are intent on receiving hands-on, personal attention, not more automation and technology. They know what they need: to talk to someone — without headaches, hassles and roadblocks.

“Consumers want to be able to contact someone local, with the perfect scenario being able to call someone with the potential of being able to follow that up face-to-face,” researchers noted.

Mobile banking is also gaining popularity, with 24% saying they have already tried it. One-third are interested in making mobile payments. Consumers also expect other digital channels like web- and video chat to grow. 25% of those ages 16-24 would like to use video-chat to speak with their bank.

Social Media

The research found that banking customers around the world remain cautious of social media when dealing with personal finance matters. The study revealed that only 5% of consumers see social media as an appropriate channel for financial conversations, and some 60% said they wouldn’t use Twitter, Facebook or similar sites to resolve customer service issues in banking.

Only 7% of consumers say they are interested in social finance tools like peer-to-peer lending.

“While consumers are willing to use mobile apps, they are less sure about using online forums and social media to collaborate with others over their finances,” the report notes.

Banking… It Ain’t Easy

The research found that consumers are more cautious and are paying more attention to their finances. 65% said they are spending more time and energy managing their money.

Consumers resent the effort involved in the retail finance processes. Over 40% say they have to exert high- or very high levels of effort when making financial purchases.

Key Takeaway: Find ways to simplify every consumer-facing product, process and channel. Your goal should be for consumers to spend less time interacting with your brand, not more.

59% of US consumers say they are “more likely to switch banks due to bad customer service than to get a slightly better deal.” An equal number of UK consumers feel the same way, while only 45% of Spanish agree.

The Net Promoter Score (a simple if not controversial measurement used by some financial institutions) is negative for the entire industry.

“Levels of recommendation are very low and large global banks are undifferentiated,” researchers noted, “even if service levels aren’t too shabby.”

International Concerns

People don’t have high levels of trust in financial services providers, particularly in the UK, where the number has sunk to 31%. Barely a third (34%) of British consumers said they have a strong relationship with their bank. This compares to 40% in Spain, 55% in the US and 64% in Germany.

In-branch bank representatives need better skills and knowledge, according to 38% of UK and 39% of Spanish consumers.

Spain leads the rest of the world in mobile banking. Spanish consumers are using mobile browsers, smartphone apps, email and text messaging for banking more than most1 – but they have to wait the longest to apply for a new account.

Germans seem more focused on getting the best possible deal than quality of service.

UK consumers are global leaders in online and digital finance.

The US has the most competitive market and US consumers seem the most satisfied with service and interactions.

About the survey: The survey, conducted by Davies Hickman Partners Ltd on behalf of BT and Avaya, included 2,000 participants in the US, UK, Spain and Germany. BT is a global provider of communications services and networked IT solutions. Avaya offers unified communications systems and contact centers. Both have financial clients around the world. You can review an executive summary of the report in PDF format for free at a link on this page here.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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The study, conducted by research firm StrategyOne on behalf of Edelman, involved 20-minute online interviews with 30,000 people in 25 countries. Edelman describes participants in the survey as members of the “informed public” — college graduates whose household income is in the top quartile for their age, and who follow newsworthy issues several times a week.

Consumer Confidence in Banks Nosedives in US, UK

Since 2008, consumers’ confidence in banks’ ability to “do the right thing” has plummeted — a stunning 46% in the US, and an equally-shocking 30% in the UK. Meanwhile, in other markets like India and China where consumers already have high levels of trust, faith in financial firms’ integrity has increased as much as 12% over the same three-year period.

Respondents ranked “has ethical business practices” (76%), “listens to customer needs and feedback” (74%), and “places customers ahead of profits” (73%) as the most important actions financial firms should take to rebuild trust.

31% of consumers think more regulations are needed to curb irresponsible business practices. 25% want more the government involved to ensure companies are behaving responsibly.

Edelman says the concepts of trust and reputation are inseparable. A financial institution’s reputation (i.e., its brand) is a consumer’s aggregate feelings about its past behaviors. Past performance creates future expectations, which in turn determines the degree of trust a consumer places in an organization.

The Financial Trust Barometer, now in its 12th year, seals Edelman’s position as one of the world’s foremost authorities on reputation tracking in the banking sector.

Trust in Banking by Country

Consumers in the U.S. are more trusting of financial services brands than many other developed countries, however, the industry is only trusted by a majority of consumers in nine of 25 countries studied.

Food For Thought: How many financial institutions have the word “Trust” in their names?

A report released earlier this year by consulting firm Oliver Wyman found that 63% of people trust no one but themselves to manage their retirement savings. Banks were trusted by less than 8% of those surveyed in the U.S. and U.K.

In order to regain trust, banks will have to offer simpler products that appear to offer value for money, according to the Oliver Wyman study. To do that, lenders and insurers will probably cut one-quarter of their costs over the next eight years by delivering products online instead of through branches.

Do What You Say, Say What You Mean

“The financial crisis and its persisting issues of banker bonuses and sovereign debt defaults have highlighted issues of moral bankruptcy in our current way of banking,” observes Omar Shaikh, executive board member of the Islamic Finance Council UK.

Richard Edelman, President/CEO at Edelman Worldwide, says there has too often been a divide between what financial institutions do and what they say. “It is not good enough any more to say smart words. You have to have smart deeds.”

Martin Shaw, chief executive at the Association of Financial Mutuals, says banks frequently respond to breakdowns in trust by throwing money at new branding projects. “But actions inevitably speak louder than words,” he says. “But all too often you hear that customer benefits are cut, whilst the [shareholder] dividend is increased.”

Branding guru Steve Davies says trust is born from a sense of congruity. “Put simply, ‘saying what you will do, and then doing what you say.’”

That doesn’t mean you have to open the kimono and be brutally honest, Davies says.

“Transparency is a term that’s sometimes overused,” he complains. “It doesn’t mean opening the doors and revealing every secret. The simple reality of doing business makes telling the truth an unrealistic proposition.”

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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The study, now in its third year, examines the bank shopping and selection process, finds that 9.6% of customers in 2012 indicate they switched their primary banking institution during the past year to a new provider. This is up from 8.7% in 2011 and 7.7% in 2010.

Among big banks, regional banks and midsize banks, defection rates averaged between 10.0% and 11.3%, while the defection rate for small banks and credit unions averaged only 0.9%, a significant drop from the 8.8% number seen in 2011.

BofA, Wells Fargo and Citi lost an aggregated 1.5% of their customer deposits. Previously, BofA had said the rate of customer defections increased 20% during the fourth quarter of 2011.

Roughly half of the customers leaving a large bank in the past year ended up moving their money to another large bank.

Not all big banks suffered. In fact, J.D. Power was stunned by how well several big banks were able to acquire new relationships.

“In light of the Bank Transfer Day promotion, I expected a decline in acquisition,” admits Michael Beird, Director of Banking Services at J.D. Power & Associates. “But three of the top six banks actually improved in acquisition.”

The beneficiaries of the increased exodus from larger banks are (unsurprisingly) primarily smaller banks and credit unions. Acquisition of new customers by smaller banks and credit unions increased by 2.2 percentage points to an average of 10.3%.

For its study, J.D. Powers defined big banks as the six largest financial institutions based upon total FDCI deposits — $180 billion and above. Regional banks were defined as those with $33-$180 billion in deposits. Midsize banks were defined as those with $2-$33 billion in deposits. Small community banks and credit unions were defined as all financial institutions with deposits less than $2 billion.

Fighting Attrition and Battling Defections

What can financial institutions do to combat switching? Beird says that depends on the size and type of financial institution. To fight attrition, Beird says large banks need to focus on aligning fees with value.

“If customers are getting poor service, it exacerbates the fee issue,” Beird observes. “On the other hand, if the service and products exceed customer expectations, fees become less of an issue — like Frost Bank or AmericanExpress.”

For small financial institutions, the challenge is meeting consumers’ needs with limited facilities and resources. Beird says mobile and online banking should help small banks and credit unions create alternatives to the brick-and-mortar convenience consumers expect.

“But that will come slowly,” he notes.

All financial institutions need to keep their eyes peeled for signs of unrest and potential defections.

“Problems and complaints are a critical indicator,” Beird points out. “Customers who have had at least one problem in the last twelve months — fees, service issues, transactional problems, etc. — have a higher inclination to switch banks than those who don’t. Following up with those customers is key.

When asked if the factors that drive consumer away become the same criteria they use to evaluate new banking providers, Beird says yes… and no.

“There is some alignment, but customers leave for multiple reasons and then reassess what’s most important in selection criteria,” Beird explains. “For most big banks, customers choose them for the convenience factor, i.e. branches and ATMs. For smaller banks, it’s for better service and lower fees.”

Switching From Defense to Offense

Not all financial institutions are fighting a purely defensive battle against switching and attrition. Some banks and credit unions smell opportunity, and are aggressively pursuing new relationships. But Beird warns against relying too heavily on promotions to lure new customers.

“Promotions work, but only in the short term,” Beird cautions. “Customer loyalty is thin when customers move for promotions or incentives.”

Beird thinks smaller banks and credit unions would have more success if they concentrated their marketing at consumers’ life stages — things like moving to a new city or changing jobs.

“Catching people going into life changes, rather than those who just went through them, is a way of seizing opportunities and prospects,” Beird advises.

Fees and Poor Service vs. Bank Transfer Day

For those in the banking world hoping for more clarity about the impact of Bank Transfer Day, the J.D. Power study will be of little help. The company had already initiated its research project in the field by the time BofA’s debit fee brouhaha exploded, so they were unable to gauge the role and impact of Bank Transfer Day on switching behaviors. However, fees were a key central theme in J.D. Power’s findings.

“The focus on fees as a shopping trigger would indicate there was a strong alignment to the issues that drove Bank Transfer Day,” Beird speculates. “However, if consumers were satisfied with the way their bank treats them, it was fairly clear they would not leave simply over increased pricing.”

J.D. Power’s data indicates that more than half of the people who cited fees as their reason for shopping also described their former bank as having poor service.

“In many ways, these customers were likely looking for a reason to cut the strings and would have done so eventually,” Beird adds. “Bank Transfer Day seized the moment of frustration because customers were upset over bank experiences that did not meet their expectations or satisfy their needs.

For more information regarding the 2012 U.S. Bank Customer Switching and Acquisition Study, please contact Holly Zagresky at J.D. Power & Associates.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Based on a survey of 5,800 people, Javelin estimates the number who moved their money from any financial institution — bank or credit union — for any reason during the last 90 days of 2011 was 5.6 million individuals. 11% of those, or approximately 610,000 people, cited Bank Transfer Day as the reason.

26% of switchers stated that they made the move because their bank charged too many fees.

But was the level of switching activity seen in 2011′s final quarter abnormal? No, says Javelin.

“The total volume of those who left their depository financial institution during Q4 was not very different than in previous measurement periods,” said James Van Dyke, President and Founder of Javelin. However, Van Dyke adds this caveat: “We believe total bank-switching would actually have gone down had Bank Transfer Day not been so heavily promoted.”

The Javelin study would appear to redeem CUNA. The credit union association at first estimated the volume of Bank Transfer Day switchers around 650,000, a number remarkably similar to the one Javelin came up with. But CUNA then backpedalled, saying the total was less than a third of that. The trade group revised its numbers significantly downward, putting the number of new members joining credit unions during that period at only 210,000.

Now of course, Javelin’s figure of 610,000 Bank Transfer Day switchers includes those who joined credit unions… as well as those who moved to other banks (presumably community-based).

So how many people really did join credit unions in Q4 2011 in connection with Bank Transfer Day? Maybe around 485,000, but we will never really know for sure.

Why didn’t more people make the switch?

Research has shown again and again that people neither like- nor trust big banks. When so many people hate big banks, it should hardly seem surprising that 610,000 of them switched. The real question is why didn’t more people make the switch, especially while inertia was at its weakest?

Community financial institutions rushed to commend themselves for the sudden surge in new business they saw in last year’s final quarter. To them, 610,000 people might mean a lot. But you have to remember: Big banks like BofA have over 40 million deposit customers. Collectively, the four megabanks — BofA, Citi, Chase and Wells Fargo — have a relationship with practically everyone in the U.S. So if they lost a combined 610,000 customers over Bank Transfer Day, they didn’t even lose even 0.3% of their customer base. That’s works out to only about 1 defection for every 400 big bank customers.

“This was certainly not the massive departure banks might have feared,” he said. “We didn’t see any individual bank punished out of this more than the rest.”

Van Dyke thinks he knows why more consumers didn’t make the switch. He says consumers may have a sincere affinity for community-based financial institutions, but they feel trapped by the technologies they want — technologies that only bigger banks seem to offer.

Van Dyke says potential switchers have significant concerns about the overall downgrade in electronic capabilities that await them at community institutions.

“Young, idealistically-minded people might love small banks and credit unions,” he says. “But data show young people in particular love the technology at large banks even more.”

“Our data clearly show that smaller financial institutions are beloved by all Americans,” he continues. “Yet our benchmarking analysis show that the larger players are delivering on specific emerging capabilities that span online, mobile and social channels.”

“If young consumers are willing to stand in line through the night to get the next version of an iPhone, they’ll become fans of a financial institution that gives them a similar experience.”

That mobile and online technologies are in short supply at credit unions “should be raising alarm bells” in CU board rooms, Van Dyke warns. If credit unions don’t focus their attention in digital directions, he fears they may go the way of the Oldsmobile.

Van Dyke also credits banks’ age old friend inertia for reducing customer churn at big banks. “It turned out that technology and inertia really won the day in favor of the large banks,” Van Dyke says.

Given the technology shortcomings at credit unions and community banks (real or perceived), it’s odd that Van Dyke was surprised Bank Transfer Day switchers were predominantly not the young, low-income urban hipsters associated with Occupy Wall Street. In actuality, Van Dyke’s research found that those who left large banks in favor of a credit union or community bank due to Bank Transfer Day trended towards higher incomes. Otherwise, they were unremarkable.

“Mostly, they just looked like everyday Americans, but perhaps with a slightly fatter wallet,” Van Dyke said.

Now of course, some big bank customers will always be switching. One-size-fits-all transaction factories invariably anger and frustrate a certain number of customers every month. It’s statistically unavoidable, which leaves big banks continually walking the tightrope between attrition and inertia.

So what can bankers do who want to improve income without alienating customers? Javelin says they need to move from a revenue model that is primarily punitive (such as overdraft, insufficient funds, etc.) to one that is proactive. Javelin says this applies particularly to larger banks, where it is even more important to “get people feeling good about paying more for more.”

Who is Molly Katchpole and Why Should You Care?

One particularly fascinating aspect of the 2011 bank switching narrative is how the story was spun. To this day, news organizations still love giving credit to Bank Transfer Day and its originator, Kristen Christian. At her Facebook page, Christian managed to get 60,000 people committed to switching on Bank Transfer Day. Meanwhile however, an online petition against BofA’s $5 fee started by activist Molly Katchpole gained over 300,000 signatures. And yet few media outlets ever reference Katchpole. Why is that?

A quick scan of Google returns only 50,000 results for Katchpole’s BofA petition. If you search for just “Molly Katchpole,” you’ll be lucky to find 200,000 results. Now keep in mind, Katchpole has started a number of online viral protests, including a revolt against Verizon’s proposed $2 fee that attracted 167,000 signatures almost overnight.

Bank Transfer Day, on the other hand, yields over 20 million references on Google.

Again, why is that? Why did the media shun the arguably more successful Katchpole for Kristen’s Bank Transfer Day creation? Why doesn’t Katchpole get any credit when she mustered five times as much support for her cause? Probably because Katchpole’s petition didn’t have a catchy name. If there’s a lesson here for viral marketers, it’s that you had better coin a good, Googleable phrase. But not even then is success guaranteed, as the Move Your Money project’s dismal performance proves.

In Javelin’s study, 11% of switchers cited “Bank Transfer Day” as the reason they left their financial institution. In all likelihood, what the data really signifies is an 11% awareness level of the “Bank Transfer Day” phrase among switchers. Without the media whipping up such interest in Bank Transfer Day, that same 11% would likely have fell into the “unreasonable debit card fee” camp.

Bottom Line: Most of the people who switched financial providers during Q4 2011 probably would have done so anyway, whether or not Katchpole created a petition or Christian organized Bank Transfer Day.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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In a 28-page report titled The State of Online & Mobile Banking, comScore explores nearly every issue and topic financial marketers are wrestling with today. What is the growth rate for online banking? Which online services drive greater engagement? Why don’t more people sign up for online bill pay or PFM? Are consumers aware their financial institutions use social media? What’s the adoption rate for mobile banking, and where is it headed?

In the report, comScore analyzes the state of online and mobile banking activity in the U.S., providing key insights into customer behaviors, attitudes, satisfaction, service usage and mobile adoption.

Mobile Banking Keeps Rising in Usage & Importance

In Q2 2011, 16% of the 234 million mobile users in the U.S. indicated that they conducted some type of financial-related activity from their mobile device in the past month. Nearly three-quarters of mobile bankers indicated interacting with banks on their mobile devices at least once per week, mirroring engagement frequencies seen for online banking use via a desktop or laptop computer.

Three out of every five mobile bankers are between the ages of 18-34, more than double the percentage of those who do not take advantage of mobile banking offerings in this demographic. Mobile bankers are also twice as likely to have a household income exceeding $100K vs. non-users (31% vs. 15%).

Security Concerns Thwart Adoption of Bill Pay

Bill pay continues to receive considerable attention across the industry, as banks increasingly try to grow their engagement with customers using this service. However, among those consumers who don’t use online bill pay, 43% say concerns with security are what keeps them from adopting the service. This signifies as massive 14% jump over 2010, when only 29% cited security concerns. Keep in mind, comScore’s study includes only internet users, so we aren’t talking about technophobes. These are people do a lot of things online, just no paying their bills.

Use vs. Interest in Online Services

A moderate percentage of consumers expressed an interest in various online customer services, such as Personal Financial Management, and security-based services, such as identity theft services. However, adoption of such services was less than half the rate of awareness in many cases (with the exception of account activity alerts), indicating an area of opportunity for financial providers.

Ron Shevlin, a Senior Analyst with Aite, noted the anemic level of interest in PFM in particular. “The comScore numbers are not reassuring for PFM vendors,” Shevlin said. “It might be too late to get Boomers — and maybe Gen Xers — interested in PFM.”

Shevlin also things don’t look good for P2P payments. “Nobody knows about P2P payments,” he said. “This is a cause for concern because a number of the core apps providers I’ve talked to recently are expecting P2P payments to be big, and become a revenue generator for both themselves and the banks that offer it.”

Email Marketing & Communications

With customers increasingly relying on online channels for managing their accounts, e-mail has emerged an effective, low-cost solution for communications. Consumer recall of email is quite strong, with 48% of consumers reporting they’ve received some form of e-mail communication from their primary financial institution in the last six months.

Social Media Struggles to Gain Traction

Even though banks and credit unions have flocked to social media sites, consumers haven’t noticed. A 2012 study by The Financial Brand revealed that 72% of financial institutions are on Facebook, 54% on Twitter and 49% on YouTube. But ComScore found that only 18% of consumers were aware their financial institution had a social networking presence. Four in five customers were either unaware or “unsure.”

Reality Check: Just because a consumer is “aware” their financial institution has a social media presence doesn’t mean they care. Even among those who are “fans” and “followers,” engagement rates are still extremely low.

Download the Complete Report for Free

The comScore State of Online & Mobile Banking report provides a comprehensive review of the digital banking industry, including emerging mobile channels. Results are based on a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. internet users. The study focuses on key trends in customer behaviors, attitudes, satisfaction, service usage and mobile adoption. The report includes 28 charts and graphs, all as equally fascinating as the three contained in this article. You can get your free copy after completing a simple contact form. The report is definitely worth downloading, and comes highly recommended by The Financial Brand. To download your copy, click here.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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According to a study from Accenture, banks still have a long way to go to repair and improve relationships with their customers. The study suggests consumers who got burned in the financial meltdown are holding a grudge against the banks they blame for today’s economic mess.

Accenture’s research revealed that banking customers are less likely to recommend their provider than last year, despite being more satisfied with the service they received.

It’s as if consumers are saying, “Yes, my bank did a better job. But I’m still very mad at them.”

What’s intriguing is that a similar study conducted in the U.S. by Prime Performance found that consumers rated their individual experiences with financial providers very highly, even though overall trust in the banking industry is down.

More Satisfied… But Less Likely To Recommend

Accenture’s research, which encompassed 4,000 checking customers in the UK, showed that customer satisfaction levels in retail banking improved over the past year. Accountholders satisfied who say they are satisfied with their bank rose from 56% to 60%.

The number of customers complaining about their bank dropped from 17% to 13%. Among those customers with a complaint, more customers were satisfied with how their problem was handled, up from 34% to 39%.

Despite these improvements, the survey revealed that the number of customers who would recommend their bank to family and friends has fallen over the past year, down from 61% to 47%.

This wasn’t the only bad news the Accenture study contained. Only two out of five customers surveyed said they felt their bank was fair and transparent, and the same number said they were getting good value for their money.

“While customers may think their own bank is doing a decent job, the banking industry as a whole still has a long way to go to rebuild its reputation and win back the advocacy of its customers,” said Peter Kirk, author of the Accenture study and head of their UK banking division.

“In order to rebuild relationships, banks need to invest more in improving customer service,” Kirk added. “They should also look at rewarding customers through loyalty schemes.”

At least Kirk sees a silver lining. “These results show that the banks’ efforts to fix underlying service issues and engage better with their customers are working.”

Good News: Customer Switching Declines

“There is a clear problem that customers perceive the switching process to be overly cumbersome.”

Accenture’s survey showed that switching levels among UK banking customers declined in 2011. Only 11% of respondents said they had recently switched one or more products from their bank, compared with 16% a year ago. Similarly, research from Prime Performance found that U.S. consumers said they were less likely to switch… but that was back in the first half of 2011. Now if Prime Performance repeated their U.S. study today, in the wake of the turbulent year that left big banks marred, these numbers would be radically higher.

Of the 6% who switched checking accounts in the Accenture study, one in four encountered problems with the process. Nevertheless, a large majority felt switching was still worth it, and 75% said they were pleased they made the switch.

Among those who did not switch their checking account, 90% said they had no desire to change. The remaining 10% wanted to switch but did not do so, with half saying they thought the process would take too long.

“With nearly a quarter of those switching their current account still experiencing problems, the industry certainly needs to tackle the shortcomings in the system to create fluidity in the market,” Kirk said. “There is a clear problem that customers perceive the switching process to be overly cumbersome, which does not necessarily match reality, and this needs to be addressed.”

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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• State of Bank & Credit Union Marketing In 2012

Inadequate budgets.

According to The Financial Brand’s 2012 Bank & Credit Union Marketing Survey, bank and credit union executives say their organization’s lack of marketing investment is what holds them back, this despite the fact that nearly half saw their budgets increase in 2012. They also feel that their I.T. systems are limiting, that it’s difficult to get employee support for marketing initiatives, and (of course) there’s always a boatload of compliance headaches.

If financial marketers seem cranky, maybe they have good reason to be. The turbulence of 2011 strained both banks and credit unions alike, and it doesn’t look like 2012 is shaping up to be much easier. Indeed, marketing executives at banks and credit unions have their work cut out for them this year. They say their number one priority is to increase their financial institution’s lending portfolio. How? By cross-selling mortgages, auto loans and credit cards to existing customers. But the lending market — everything about the entire economy — isn’t cooperating. There aren’t many consumers brave enough to apply for credit in this rotten economy, and only a handful meet lenders’ new, stricter requirements.

The 2012 Bank & Credit Union Marketing Survey also revealed that financial marketers plan to emphasize their e-strategies more in 2012, with a specific focus on social media, PFM and online advertising. Meanwhile, the more traditional aspects of bank marketing — TV/radio spots, physical branches and even print ads — continue to hold steady ground.

You can review the full results of The Financial Brand’s study in detail below. There is also a companion piece to this article,“What’s The Single Biggest Financial Marketing Issue In 2012?“ highlighting answers to the survey’s only open-ended question.

Special thanks go out to all those who participated in the survey. These folks appreciate the value of collective insight — that you can learn a lot by contributing a little. The Financial Brand also extends a big thank you Jim Marous, Senior Marketing Director with Harland Clarke and publisher of Bank Marketing Strategy, for his logistical and marketing support that contributed so much to the success of this survey. You can read Jim’s take on the survey here at his blog. Thanks go out to the good people at ACTON Marketing as well, who helped recruit survey participants.

Breakdown of Participants

The survey was completed by 228 total participants, including 84 banks, 30 community banks and 104 credit unions. 82% of respondents worked in a marketing capacity. Financial institutions in all asset classes were well-represented — 15 responses came from those with over $100 billion in assets, while 57 responses came from those with less than $100 million in assets.

Biggest Marketing Challenges in 2012

What do financial marketers feel is holding them back? Topping the list in 2012, half blame insufficient budgets and manpower. It is perhaps a bit ironic that financial marketers feel they are (#1) inadequately funded and understaffed considering that they struggle with measuring and proving the impact of their efforts (#2 on the list).

Many of the challenges facing financial marketing executives involve other departments, particularly  I.T., sales/operations and HR. In order for bank and credit union marketers to succeed, they need forge closer ties with these departments in 2012 and beyond. An isolated marketing department can only achieve so much.

It is simply stunning that only 9% of financial marketers see consumers’ lack of trust in the banking industry as a significant marketing challenge in 2012. (Try telling that to BofA.)

Reality Check: For consumers, their economic meltdown is far from over and banks are still to blame.

Changes to Marketing Budget in 2012

When asked how their financial institution’s marketing budget will change in 2012, 45% said it would increase, 12% anticipated a decrease, while 39% said it would stay about the same. The Financial Brand has frequently noted that marketing budgets at banks and credit unions should equate to approximately 0.1% of assets — a $1 billion financial institution should have a marketing budget around $1 million.

Top 3 Marketing Priorities

For this question, respondents were asked to rank their top three marketing priorities over the next 12-24 months. The data in the table signifies the number of respondents who ranked that priority either a #1, #2 or #3 on their list. The majority of financial institutions see cross-selling and loan growth as critical to their success in 2012.

If banks and credit unions want to deepen relationships, you’d think they see value in retaining those relationship, but they paradoxically put “customer/member retention” at the bottom of their priorities.

Reality Check: It may be easier to sell to an existing customer than to find a new one, but you can’t cross-sell customers/members (#1 in the list) that you don’t retain (#10).

Most Important Products & Services

In the survey, this question presented respondents with a randomized list of financial products and services, asking them to check those that their bank/credit union will concentrate on promoting most heavily in the next 12-24 months. Not surprisingly, lending products such as home loans, auto loans and credit cards top the list.

Most Important Marketing Channels

Despite many predictions declaring that traditional media is dead, roughly half of all bank and credit union marketers assert that print, TV, radio and outdoor advertising will have about the same importance in 2012 as it did last year. However, financial marketers also say that online advertising, social media and PFM tools will be growing in importance over the next 12 months. This data suggests that future of bank and credit union marketing will shift to the internet, but old habits die hard. It’s also worth noting the increase in significance of data-driven initiatives such as onboarding, database/matrix marketing, CRM systems and direct mail.

Utilization of Marketing Vendors & Suppliers

Roughly two-thirds of banks and credit unions utilize the services of an outside ad agency or design firm. A similar number turn to web developers for their online needs, while nearly 3-in-4 use a production company for their TV and radio spots. Only about a quarter of financial institutions utilize a third-party vendor to help them in areas like public relations, social media and financial education.

Primary Tools Used to Measure Branding and Marketing

Anyone who works in management — especially those in marketing — knows how hard it can be to correlate advertising and branding with results. When you look at the tools financial marketers are using in 2012 to assess and measure the success of their efforts, you see the usual suspects, mostly metrics that gauge the overall health and performance of a financial institution. But what’s startling is the number of bank and credit union marketers that don’t look at these things. Nearly a third (28%) don’t view marketing activities through the lens of customer acquisition. One in three don’t incorporate customer feedback. Three in five don’t factor attrition/churn rates.

Changes in Size of Branch Network

Pundits have been predicting the demise of branches since the mid 90s, but (for now) banks and credit unions seem reluctant to accept this. Rather than close branches, 42% say they are planning to open more locations in 2012, while nearly half say the size of their branch network will not shrink and at least stay the same. Only 6% of financial institutions say they intend to close any branches in 2012.

Utilization of Online Marketing Tools

When The Financial Brand conducted a similar study back in 2010, only 69% of banks and credit unions said they utilized email, but that number increased 10% in 2012. Similarly, 68% say they now pay for online banner ads vs. only 54% who said they did so in 2010 — an increase of 14 percentage points. Those pursuing an SEO strategy grew by 13 percentage points. But it was ads in eStatements that saw the most growth, moving from 44% in 2010 to 63% in 2012 (up 19 points). Fewer financial institutions say they are using microsites in 2012 (52% vs. 38%), signalling a significant slowdown in this once-popular internet marketing approach.

Utilization of Social Media Tools

Two in five financial institutions either have a blog today or plan to soon. Three in four use Facebook, making it the dominant social channel for banks and credit unions. Just about half are using the other three major social platforms: Twitter (54%), YouTube (49%) and Linkedn (48%).

In an August 2010 study, only 46% of financial institutions were using Facebook. 35% were using Twitter, and 25% were using YouTube. In both the 2010 and 2012 surveys, the same number of banks and credit unions said they had a blog (18%). Financial institutions utilizing an online discussion forum dropped by a quarter, down to 6%.

Staff Time Spent on Social Media

When asked how many staff hours are applied to social media every week, a staggering 40% of banks and credit unions say only 1-5 hours. And financial institutions wonder why they don’t get more out of it? There is practically nothing in marketing worth doing that only takes 1-5 hours per week — and that’s especially true with social media. You’re going to get out of it what you put into it. Little investment = little/no return.

When Was the Last Major Website Redesign?

The Financial Brand looks at hundreds upon hundreds of bank and credit union websites. Based on what we see, it’s hard to believe that nearly one in three financial institutions have undertaken a major redesign in the last year, or that two-thirds of banking websites have been refreshed within the last 2-3 years. There are still many websites in the financial industry that look dated (e.g., more than five years old).

Do You Have Formal Brand Guidelines?

When asked if their financial institution currently has a formal, written set of brand guidelines, 53% said yes, although it’s likely that many of these respondents have only a set of graphic design standards rather than a broader brand manual applicable to all employees. One in five financial institutions don’t have brand guidelines of any kind, but an equal number intend to.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Those were the critical questions driving a study published by the CMO Council entitled “Delivering Positive Impressions During Market Depressions.” The study was based on research fielded in August and September 2011, encompassing some 120 financial marketers — primarily CMOs and Marketing VPs with spanning all asset classes — local to global. Credit unions were not included in the survey.

Whether consumers really are panicked or not, bankers certainly believe their customers are worried, with 89% rating customers’ level of anxiety as moderate to very high. This belief has impacted bank marcom strategies significantly. 34% have seen cutbacks in marketing programs and budgets as a result.

Bank marketers said the current state of the financial industry has made it increasingly difficult to communicate with consumers and restore confidence. 43% of respondents said people trust banks less and are now more skeptical. 87% blamed this negative consumer sentiment for producing a moderately- to extremely challenging environment for bank marketing communications. And yet only 39% of bank marketers feel their customers’ elevated concerns warrants increased levels of contact and communications.

When asked which channels the bank receives the most requests from customers for reassurance, the top three most frequent responses were all in-person channels: 54% said account managers, 52% said call centers and 48% said branch visits. Only 29% cited their website and 22% said email. Social media was nowhere on the radar.

The CMO Council’s full report, “Delivering Positive Impressions During Market Depressions,” was published in conjunction with True North Custom Media, a provider of marketing, strategy, and analytic solutions to financial institutions.

You can download the complete 27-page study for free after submitting a few details here. Among the six qualitative interviews published as part of the study are insights from marketing executives at First Tennessee, Middleburg, MidSouth and Union banks.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Among the largest U.S. institutions (assets $30B+), Wells Fargo reclaims the number one position for the first time since 2008, followed by U.S. Bank, M&T, Fifth Third and PNC. M&T and PNC ranked in the top five in previous years, but Fifth Third enters the top five for the first time in 2011.

Two institutions that previously ranked high on the list, Northern Trust and JPMorgan Chase, dropped out of the 2011 rankings, as their equity levels fell below Bancography’s minimum level for inclusion.

The BBVI rankings analyze US banks, thrifts and credit unions according to the profit premium their brands add to each institution’s underlying tangible value. This is the fourth consecutive year the BBVI study has been published by Bancography, a financial services consulting firm based in Birmingham, Alabama.

In calculating brand value, Bancography quantifies the proportion of each institution’s long-term value that is attributable to the intangible factors that constitute an institution’s brand — reputation, service quality, image and market awareness. The brand value index identifies institutions that produce financial results beyond what their capital base, market conditions and competitive environments would predict. The calculations reward institutions that display consistently strong earnings and a reasonable cost of funds.

Buoyed by a strong economy, the state of Texas leads all others throughout the study, with 12 Texas banks and nine credit unions ranked. Texas, the Midwest and the West place strongly in the rankings, with banks from those regions occupying 30 out of 40 positions. In contrast, the South and Mid-Atlantic regions are only minimally represented in the rankings, suggesting the troubled economy continues to affect brand strength. Institutions in those regions have suffered significant financial losses and greatly diminished balance growth rates.

Reflecting the strength and stability of the credit union sector, 19 of 2010’s top 25 large institutions retain their top-25 status in 2011. For the second year in a row Austin Telco FCU leads the largest credit unions (assets > $1 billion), followed by Landmark Credit Union and Local Government FCU.

The change — or lack thereof — in credit union rankings versus 2010 differs sharply from the commercial bank rankings, which saw widespread change from the prior year.

The tables below display the top ranking bank and credit union brands for 2011, with distinctions made between banks and credit unions of varying asset tiers. 2010 rankings are posted for comparison.

Institutions with negative average income over the past three years, or with insufficient equity, are  not included in the rankings.

Megabanks ($30+ billion assets)

* Moved up from $2B-$30B asset tier

Large Banks ($2 billion – $20 billion assets)

** Did not exist before 2010 (result of 10 merged banks)
* Moved up from $500M-$2B asset tier
n/a = Did not meet equity to asset ratio requirement

Medium-Sized Banks ($500 million – $2 billion assets)

* Moved up from < $500M asset tier
n/a = did not meet equity to asset ratio requirement

Small Banks ($500+ million assets)

Large Credit Unions ($1+ billion assets)

* Moved up from < $1 billion asset tier

Smaller Credit Unions (less than $1 billion assets)

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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The conclusions come from a Prime Performance survey of over 8,000 consumers who had recently been assisted by a representative at a credit union, small bank, large bank or one of three mega-banks: BofA, Chase and Wells Fargo.

Collectively as an industry, the average net satisfaction score across all retail financial institutions increased 5% in 2010. Large banks, and specifically Chase, increased at a faster rate than average — 6% and 12% respsectively. Falling behind the average pace was BofA at 3% and Wells Fargo at 2%.

Small banks have pulled even with credit unions among Gen Y and Gen X customers, while credit unions have increased satisfaction among older members.

“While credit unions and community banks enjoy high satisfaction and customer loyalty, their larger competitors are closing the gap, especially younger customers,” said Jim Miller, President/Prime Performance and author of the report. “If small banks and credit unions don’t live up to customer expectations and provide a more personalized service they run the risk of losing their service advantage.”

The 2011 Bank and Credit Union Satisfaction Survey was conducted in August and September 2011, just a few weeks ahead of BofA’s $5 debit fee bombshell. It would be extremely interesting to see how the results would be affected if the study could be repeated now, after the mass exodus labeled Bank Transfer Day.

While the study did show satisfaction was on the rise, the survey also revealed that some banks — particularly the mega-banks– struggle to win the trust and loyalty of their customers. Many consumers believe big banks put institutional interests ahead of customers, have concerns about fees, and are not willing to refer friends and family to them. And things have only gotten harder for banks since October.

Other interesting survey findings included:

• Customers believe credit unions have the most competitive fees and BofA the least competitive.
• Customers at small banks and credit unions are more apt to believe employees enjoy their jobs than customers at big banks and mega-banks.
• Bank of America customers are the youngest, with an average age of 41.2 years (excluding minors). Small banks serve the oldest customer base, with an average age of 47.1 years.

As you look through the data, some of the results may surprise you. If the scores seem really high, remember that people are reflecting on real, personal experiences. Consumers will psychologically separate feelings about banks in general from the interactions they have with their bank. Ask consumers to rate banks in the abstract, and scores plunge. But drill down to specific situations and consumers tend to lighten up: “Yeah, I really hate banks… but that service representative Suzie was really nice and helpful.”

As Filene Research puts it, “It’s like voters who hate Congress but love their hometown Representative.”

You can download the complete study for free by clicking here and filling out a very simple registration form. The report includes a number of statistical breakdowns by age group: Gen-Y, Gen-X and Boomers. If you’re looking for comparisons of cross-generational demographic data, this report is definitely worth a look.

Overall Satisfaction With Service Experience

Likelihood to Switch

Likely to Recommend

Offers Competitive Fees

Problems/Complaints With the Bank in the Last Year

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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