?Boston, MA November 15, 2010 – The top performing banks for small business customer experience were Capital One Bank, Chase and Citizens Bank, according to a study released today by ath Power Consulting. While all three banks achieved the top score of 84 (out of a potential 100), the actual rankings differed by less than 1%. The 2010 study of small business customer experience showed that Citizens Bank made an impressive rise from 10th position in the 2009 study to second in 2010, and Chase did the same moving from 12th to third place. Capital One Bank continued its highly ranked performance from last year, improving from number 2 to number 1 nationally for the 2010 study. “Last year it was the mid-size regionals that dominated the top categories,” notes Frank Aloi, President of ath Power Consulting. “These larger institutions have clearly been focusing on the right things to improve customer experience in the critical small business marketplace.”
“We remain committed to investing in our Business Banking proposition” says Maria Tedesco, Group Executive Vice President & Director of Business Banking at Citizens Financial Group. Good Banking means delivering Good Value. Customer research has validated that this is resonating with our business banking customers.”
Room for Improvement in Small Business Customer Experience
Overall, the average ranking on total customer experience for the 33 banks visited by nearly 700 qualified small business customers was 77 - little changed from 2009. “We would expect average customer experience scores to be higher for this segment,” notes Aloi. “Overall, there has not been much improvement.” Only 8 in 10 of the bankers evaluated for this study were viewed as someone to return to for future financial needs and advice, and similarly, only 78% would become a customer of the bank they visited based on their experience in opening an account.
“Bankers will be more successful in expanding their small business client base if they take the time to learn about those customers’ business dynamics before recommending products,” notes Aloi of ath Power Consulting. “But many important questions about the customer’s business are simply not being asked.” Results from the study showed that:
- 36% of bankers did not attempt to establish the size of the customer’s business
- 21% failed to ask for follow-up information, such as name, business card or other contact specifics
- Nearly 1 in 5 bankers did not try to determine what matters most to the customer
Asking questions about the prospect’s business is a significant driver of whether a prospect intends to become a customer of the bank in the future. Potential customers who saw a business banking specialist were significantly more likely to be asked these key questions than were those who spoke to other bank personnel.
In addition to Capital One Bank, Chase and Citizens Bank, other top scoring banks nationally were: Harris Bank, Huntington Bank, and Union Bank of California.
Regionally, the top rated banks were:
• West: Chase, Union Bank of California, HSBC
• Midwest: Citizens Bank, Harris Bank, Chase, Huntington Bank
• South: Capital One Bank, RBC
• Mid-Atlantic: PNC, Capital One Bank, BB&T
• Northeast: Chase, Citizens Bank, Capital One Bank
About the Study
ath Power’s 2010 Small Business Banking Study is designed to help banks benchmark best practices in winning new customers and servicing existing ones. “This survey is important for bankers who want to know how well they provide small business banking relationships compared to their competitors,” says Aloi. “Our results are easy to customize with the ability to narrow by metro, size of bank and other variables so that banks can make highly targeted comparisons.” To request a copy of the full study, please go to www.athpower.com/2010smbizreport.
About ath Power Consulting
ath Power is a premier provider of customer experience solutions for the financial services industry, offering audit and mystery shop studies, surveys, market research, employee development and strategic brand planning. ath Power owns the largest database of financial services field representatives in the nation, and executes the largest number of proprietary banking audits in the industry. ath Power delivers increased sales results and heightened customer service ?? the cornerstones of differentiation in a crowded marketplace. For more information, please visit www.athpower.com.
###
Media Contact:
Jessica Hamel
ath Power Consulting
978-235-7888
[email protected]