Financial businesses are missing out on billions of pounds of extra business due to poor customer care, according to a report out today (26 June).
Lack of timely, relevant, personalised and helpful information, and general misunderstanding of financial circumstances are just a few of the problems highlighted in the report from Jacob Bailey Group.
The report, Missing Billions, is based on a survey of 1,200 UK consumers in Spring 2017.
It suggested more than 50 per cent of the customers of UK financial services brands are prepared to spend more if only they felt more valued by firms.
Almost one fifth of people believe their financial services provider does not communicate with them enough.
This figure is higher for people who earn between £45,000 to £55,000 (22 per cent), as well as people with an income above that bracket (21 per cent).
Yet more than 50 per cent of financial services institutions’ existing customers would be willing to spend more money on multiple products with the same provider if only they received better communications.
This would equate to: £2.6bn spent on debit cards, £2.3bn on credit cards, £2.3bn on car insurance, £1.9bn on home insurance, £1.7bn on mortgage lenders, and finally £1.6bn on life insurance.
More than one third of people (37 per cent) do not feel valued by their current bank; while one in ten (12 per cent) do not feel valued at all by bank brands.
Around a fifth (22 per cent) do not feel valued by their life insurance company.
The Missing Billions report also ranks financial services companies according to how valued their customers feel.
Out of 20 brands examined, Bank of Ireland was the top performing company with the fewest customers feeling undervalued (22 per cent), followed by Nationwide (31 per cent) and RBS (33 per cent).
Rob Manning, strategy director, Jacob Bailey Group, said: “ “We set out to understand why these brands are failing, losing out to savvier, more agile new market entrants, finding that how financial services brands communicate with their customers is potentially costing them billions every year.
"To unlock these missing billions, these brands need to connect relevance through microtargeting, based on the best use of data, technology and creativity, leading to brilliant customer experiences.”
Tom Selby, senior policy analyst at A J Bell, said: “This shows that the concept of value isn’t simply about costs, although these clearly remain hugely important.
"Truly successful businesses are able to build trust over the long-term by putting customers at the heart of everything they do, tailoring products to meet their needs while providing an efficient and reliable service.
"Any financial services business that strays from these principles is putting its future at risk.”
