Banks Fail to Target Customers as Individuals

Three-quarters of customers feel that their bank doesn’t know them as an individual.

The Grass Roots Group has released the results of its survey of more than 2,300 UK consumers, looking into their current attitudes towards their banks.

With only a 4% rise in customer engagement since 2012 (based on an average scoring of satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy), banks are failing to target customers with relevant and personalised information – despite making significant improvement upon their professional image.

Just 9% of consumers confirmed they have received a survey relevant to their banking habits, proving a lack of targeted customer engagement.

It is well known that engaged customers exhibit greater loyalty to a brand and also encourage new customers to migrate.

With fewer customers today looking to switch compared to 2012, the achievable target market for new customer acquisition has become much smaller. This increases the need for banks to differentiate and maximise the potential of their existing customers – and quickly.

However, the survey did highlight that those that have made significant strides in the right direction with customer engagement all scored highly on customer service, trust and product offerings – which in turn had them voted the top choices for customers looking to migrate.

“Despite there now being a smaller group of potential new customers, the majority of banks are still failing to offer the right kind of joining and loyalty incentives that customers really want,” said Adam Goran at The Grass Roots Group. “While more than 60% of consumers named cashback rewards as the most desirable incentive, cashback alone does not create brand advocates and build lasting relationships. Understanding customers as individuals, and treating them as such, is the key to relevant and targeted engagement, and the key to retaining loyal customers and encouraging other bank customers to switch allegiance from the competition.”