Research by SAS highlighted that 27 percent of banking customers realized an improvement in their customer experience during the lockdown.
In an incredibly difficult time, this reflects some positive news for banks, with 59 percent of consumers also stating that they would pay more to purchase or use goods and services from any business that provided them with a good customer experience during the lockdown.
The change in customer experience also correlates with an increase in digital customer numbers. The number of banking clients using a digital service or app has increased by 11 percent since the pandemic began, adding to an existing 58 percent who were already digital customers. Meanwhile, 53 percent of new consumers expect to continue permanently using these digital services.
“It’s notable that in times of need customers value being able to communicate with their bank and place an even higher value on good customer service. A rise in the number of digital customers means banks can now reach a wider audience online, leveraging AI, and analytics to offer a more personalized experience,” said Brian Holden, Director, Financial Services at SAS UK & Ireland.
“There is work to be done, though. Even greater personalization is needed if banks are to win over 12 percent of customers who felt banking services deteriorated over lockdown. And this personalization will need to get right down to a segment of one to properly reflect the unique circumstances some individuals now find themselves in due to the pandemic.”
Despite the number of digital users has increased over lockdown, there is 24 percent of the banking customer base that have chosen not to move to digital services.
In the meantime, failure to deliver a consistently good customer experience could prove costly for banks, with 33 percent of customers reporting after only one bad experience that they would dismiss a company. For between one and five bad customer service examples, this number leaps to 90 percent, so this just underlines how often retail banks in these tough times can win or lose.
