27/05/2011
By Scott Thompson
ForeSee Results has published its first customer satisfaction report for online banking in the UK.
Over 1,000 online customers, of the top five consumer-oriented retail banks in the UK (RBS, Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, and Santander), were surveyed in April 2011 to investigate how they perceive and interact with the services they use.
Customer satisfaction with online banking in the UK is fairly high and customers are very satisfied with the top five banks (on aggregate they score 80 - generally considered the threshold for excellence on the study’s 100-point scale). Other key findings include:
Adoption of mobile banking is slow. Of survey respondents with a mobile phone, only 15 per cent are aware of mobile banking apps or mobile sites for their bank. Only 10 per cent are using their mobile phone to bank, and less than one per cent have actually used a banking mobile app. UK customers prefer to hear from their bank through the post. When asked their preference for communications from their bank, 42 per cent said they prefer post, 38 per cent prefer email, 11 per cent prefer the website, three per cent want text messages or mobile alerts, and five per cent said they don’t want any communications at all. UK customers are not inclined to get social with their banks. When asked if they would like to friend, follow, or like their bank on social media sites like Facebook, 97 per cent said no.
“The stakes are high,” says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results. “Our research shows that a highly satisfied online banker’s future behaviour scores indicate they are 51 per cent more likely to continue to use online banking services; 63 per cent more likely to continue to use the website instead of other, costlier channels (branches, call centres); 39 percent more likely to purchase additional services, and 76 per cent more likely to recommend the bank. Highly satisfied online bankers even report being 62 per cent more likely to trust their banking institution overall and 64 per cent more satisfied with their bank overall, regardless of channel.”
He concludes: “For online banking the website is a critical touchpoint, so it’s essential that they (banks) master that art of customer satisfaction and invest their time and energy into measuring the different elements of customers’ online experience. Only by doing so will they improve and develop their offering - and after all since studies continue to show a strong connection between customer satisfaction and a company’s financial future, whether the markets are up or down, it’s in their best interest to do so!”
Further data resulting from this study is available at: http://www.foreseeresults.com
