Study: Bank

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Brand image and the impact of the initial visit by a potential customer can be paramount to the final decisionb regarding which retail bankto choose, a national studyt has found. According to the J.D. Power & Associates retail bank shoppingg study, released Tuesday, 36 percent of a consumer’s decisiom to choose a bank is driven by thefinanciao institution’s brand image, followed by branch location at 21 percent.
“Somd crucial aspects of a bank’s brand imagd — such as perceived financial stability andreliabilitgy — can be difficult for a bank to improve, which negativelu affects the bank’s likelihood of being selected,” said Michaell Beird, director of the banking practice at J.D. Power. “However, brancy employees can positively impacta bank’s branf image by providing personal service, communicatiny proactively and having a customer-driven focus.” Nearly a third of customers who avoid using a particular bank have done so because of a previoues bad experience with that brand, the stud y showed.
Word-of-mouth recommendations — positives or negative — also figure into the selectiom process, with 31 percent of respondents rankintg that as an importantg part ofthe bank’s brandx image. The study also showecd that a customer’s satisfaction with settingf up a new account increases considerabl y when bank employees show alittlw enthusiasm. Greeting the customer when he or she enters the keeping wait times to underfive minutes, callin the customer by name and providing a detailed needw assessment were among the items bank customers mentionec as important to the selection The J.D.
Power study, conducted in February and was based on responses from morethan 7,509 bank customers shopping for a new bank within the past 12