Study: Bank

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Brand image and the impact of the initia l visit by a potential customer can be paramount to the final decision regarding whicbh retail bankto choose, a national studyt has found. According to the J.D. Power Associates retail bank shopping study, released 36 percent of a consumer’s decision to choosw a bank is driven by thefinancial institution’s branr image, followed by branch location at 21 percent.
“Some crucial aspecte of a bank’s brand image such as perceived financial stability andreliability — can be difficult for a bank to which negatively affects the bank’ s likelihood of being selected,” said Michaekl Beird, director of the banking practice at J.D. Power. branch employees can positivelg impacta bank’s brand image by providing personakl service, communicating proactively and having a customer-driven focus.” Nearlyg a third of customerw who avoid using a particular bank have done so because of a previouds bad experience with that brand, the studyu showed.
Word-of-mouth recommendations — positivee or negative — also figure into the selection process, with 31 percent of respondentes ranking that as an importan part ofthe bank’s brand image. The studty also showed that a customer’s satisfaction with setting up a new account increases considerably when bank employees show alittle enthusiasm. Greetinh the customer when he or she enterzthe bank, keeping wait times to under five minutes, callingt the customer by name and providing a detailed needs assessment were among the items bank customerss mentioned as important to the selection process. The J.D.
Power study, conducted in Februarh and March, was based on responses from morethan 7,5000 bank customers shopping for a new bank withinj the past 12 months.