Positive customer experience is the goal of every bank today, because happy customers bring in more revenue. Despite this fact, not every business is focused on giving customers a happy banking experience. A report by Capgemini (News - Alert) showed that customer satisfaction levels for the banking industry declined worldwide in 2013, though some regions fared better than others.
One of the worst-performing regions in terms of customer satisfaction is the Middle East and Africa. According to the report, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had the lowest points in customer satisfaction. These lower levels stem from a lack of understanding of the needs of customers in these countries. A unique aspect about both these countries is that they have a large expat population who work across diverse industries, and at varying positions. Each of these customers comes from a different country, so their needs and expectations vary too. Therefore, the “one size fits all” approach of banks fails in such a diverse crowd.
Other countries that had poor customer satisfaction levels are Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. This statistic is surprising considering that all these three countries are highly developed, and have a sophisticated banking system. Ironically, it is the same complex system that is preventing these banks from providing better customer service. There is an enormous amount of business processes and technology involved in banking operations, so even the simplest of decisions get delayed.
The above examples show the need for improvements in customer service, if the banks want to continue to be competitive. One of the major areas of focus should be innovation. Banks should put in the effort needed to understand the needs of its current and future customers, and design products and services accordingly. Also, it should embrace technological advancements like cloud processing to simplify its processes.