Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Why Australians still can't switch banks

The study found that barriers to defection in financial services currently have a higher impact on customer retention than factors such as satisfaction. For transaction accounts, the effort involved acts as a deterrent to switching, while for mortgages it is the exit fee that locks customers in.

According to Petter Ingemarsson, senior analyst for Datamonitor and author of the report, dissatisfied transaction account customers frequently stay with their bank despite wanting to change providers.

In a 2009 Datamonitor survey, 29% of respondents said they kept their transaction account provider for reasons other than satisfaction. In fact, the proportion of transaction accountholders who switched provider in the previous 12 months actually dropped between 2008 and 2009 (from 7.2% to 5.5%) and is not expected to rise in 2010.

"The main reason for this reluctance to switch bank account provider is the effort of switching linked payments. Account holders frequently tie direct debits and direct credits to their accounts, which greatly increase the perceived effort of switching account. Forgotten direct debits and credits could cause inconvenience or potentially economic loss for the customer," explained Ingemarsson.

In 2008 the Australian government mandated a "listing and switching" service for banks, whereby a consumer can request a comprehensive list of direct debits and credits over the past 13 months in order to help them switch banks. The banking industry agreed to implement this service by November 2008, but Datamonitor's research found, in some cases, banks are still unable or unwilling to provide this service.

Similarly, for mortgage holders, the government is now in the process of introducing legislation to limit exit fees (which are generally charged when a customer refinances their home within five years of taking out their mortgage).

However, there is a balance that must be struck when approaching such regulation: "On one hand, consumer protection from unfair or deceptive practices should be guaranteed but, on the other hand, over-regulation can lower the efficiency of the overall financial system," concluded Ingemarsson.

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)