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A recent study says customers’ desire for more personalized financial management and advice online has created an opportunity for regional banks.
According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study, released in June, banks earn high customer satisfaction and build strong customer engagement when they focus on delivering personalized financial advice and improve their online banking channels.
Despite only 38 percent of the total surveyed customers recall receiving personal financial advice from banks, 55 percent of them said it completely met their needs.
The study also noted that customers are demanding for more advanced online tools beyond the basic transactional tools to meet their banking and credit card needs. Virtual assistants are found to do the heavy lifting in terms of satisfying personal finance management support, while regional banks are struggling to compete in this area.
“Banks are sitting on a goldmine of customer goodwill and significant opportunities to build lifetime customer value by delivering financial advice and personalized guidance to their customers,” Jennifer White, senior director for banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “When advice hits the mark, customer satisfaction increases 228 points, but most bank customers still don’t recall ever receiving such advice. Among the small proportion that do receive advice, only 55 percent say it was effective. There’s still a great deal of work that needs to be done to unlock the full value of this powerful tool.”
The study also found successful advice strategies engage customers in multiple ways, like online platforms, mobile apps, virtual assistants and in person, and found different messages are required for different customers.
While the nation’s bigger banks also face some challenges in meeting customer demand for online banking solutions, the study pointed out that increasing demand and competition for the online space serves as a warning sign for regional banks to step it up.
