Canadian banks have achieved high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, with 70% of customers very satisfied with their primary bank and 71% having been with their bank for over a decade. However, some customers have switched banks in recent years, particularly younger customers. To maintain loyalty and reduce switching, the survey identifies three key areas banks should focus on:
1. Get the basics right - Customers expect their personal information to be secure and issues to be resolved promptly. Failure in these areas makes customers much more likely to switch banks.
2. Put the personal in personal banking - Customers want more personalized service and rewards for loyalty through product bundling.
3. Change channels with the customer - Banks need
2. Executive summary
Contents
Survey context
1
Executive summary
3
Key findings on improving the
customer experience
9
1. Get the basics right
13
2. Putting the “personal” in personal banking
17
3. Changing channels on the customer
21
Implications for Canadian financial
institutions
23
Methodology
23
2
3. Survey context
Canadian banks are not immune to continued global economic
uncertainty. Intense margin pressure, slow balance sheet growth,
an uncertain economic outlook and a highly competitive market
are forcing banks to focus on their most important asset —
their customers.
In this environment, understanding customer behaviour, attitudes and requirements are key
contributors to deliver improved share of wallet and profitability.
In our first Canadian survey of retail banking customers, which follows on our 2012 global
banking customer survey, we explored the views of over 2,400 Canadian banking and credit
union customers.
Our survey looked to provide insight on the following topics:
•
How satisfied are customers with their primary banking relationship?
•
How likely are customers to switch from their primary bank — and if so, why?
•
What are customers’ channel preferences?
•
What are the drivers of customer satisfaction?
•
How can Canadian financial institutions enhance customer loyalty
and build customer advocacy?
We hope you will find this report insightful and a helpful support for your customer-focused
strategies and welcome the opportunity to discuss our findings in more detail. Please do
not hesitate to contact your EY advisor or one of the professionals listed at the end of
this report.
Paul Battista
Partner, Canadian Financial Services Advisory Leader
1
4. Executive summary
“They do everything well...
except for the high fees. I trust
the service they provide.”
“I think they are doing a superb
job in the branch that I deal
with and I wouldn’t suggest
any changes. Just keep up the
good work and the feeling that
customers come first.”
2
5. Executive summary
Retail banks around the world are increasing their focus on their
customers, and Canadian banks are no different. This focus is
a response to a range of imperatives, including the need for
sustainable organic growth and regulatory pressure to improve
the fairness and clarity of banks’ dealings with their customers.
Banks are clear that without a well-thought-out and sustained
focus on their customers’ evolving needs, they will not
be successful.
At the same time, banks are facing a range of customer-related
challenges, including emerging threats from new entrants and
non-traditional competitors, as well as the need to better harness
the use of technology and improve channel integration. Most
importantly however, Canadian financial institutions, like their
global peers, have recognized that they need to deliver enhanced
personal service to create sustainable market advantage.
Key messages from customers
First, the good news. Overall, customers are happy with their primary financial institution,
with results from our survey indicating that approximately 70% are very satisfied with their
primary bank or credit union, and 71% have had their primary relationship for over a decade.
As such, on an overall basis, our survey findings clearly demonstrate that Canadian financial
institutions can be justly proud of the level of satisfaction and loyalty they have succeeded in
achieving with their customers.
However notwithstanding the overall level of satisfaction that Canadians have with their
financial institutions, our survey highlighted some important findings for those institutions
focused on doing better. In sum, we believe the single most important action these
institutions need to take in order to differentially enhance the retention and growth of their
customers within the highly competitive Canadian retail banking marketplace is to improve
the customer experience.
The key question is “how?” Based on insights gleaned from our survey, our report
summarizes the three key areas financial institutions should focus on that will have the
biggest impact on improving their customers’ experience.
Get the basics right
Although Canadian financial institutions experience some of the lowest customer attrition
among their global peers — as our survey attests — Canadian banking customers do switch
providers. Specifically, findings from our survey indicate that in the past five years,
approximately 4 million Canadians have switched their primary bank and, somewhat
surprisingly, the majority (70%) of those who did say switching was easy.
Given the highly competitive retail banking environment – and the relative ease those who
have switched perceived the process to be – Canadian financial institutions cannot afford to
give any of their customers reasons to consider switching to a competitor.
3
6. Executive summary
And in order to avoid awakening those switching thoughts in the minds of their customers,
our survey’s findings are clear on the most important first step financial institutions need to
take to retain customers and build loyalty: get the basics right.
Our survey respondents made it clear that when the fundamentals of banking service go
wrong, their interest in switching rises considerably.
More specifically, according to our research:
• 87% of respondents would be likely to switch providers if their financial institution failed
to secure their data
• 85% of respondents would likely switch if they had to contact their financial institution
multiple times for issue resolution
• 70% of respondents would likely switch if errors were made during their
on-boarding process
Customers quite rightly expect basic banking services to be delivered right every time so
when they experience breakdowns in these basic services, the trust and confidence in their
primary financial institution erodes, making them significantly more open and susceptible to
competing offers.
Putting the “personal” in personal banking
While Canadians’ overall level of satisfaction with their financial institutions is good,
our survey has identified a number of gaps between their current experience and the
experiences they most desire — some of which they value enough that they would switch
from their primary provider of banking services in order to receive them.
Now more than ever, Canadians expect more personalization in their dealings with their
financial institutions. Uniform, “one size fits all” banking experiences are no longer in line
with customer expectations and financial institutions that fail to adapt their business models
will see declines in customer satisfaction and increased attrition.
Specifically, our survey highlighted a number of areas in which Canadians are seeking
greater personalization from their financial institutions, including the following:
• Customers strongly believe that they should be rewarded for their loyalty.
According to our research, 61% of Canadians would be likely to switch banks if the
option to bundle products for additional discounts were available. Product bundling,
while not a new feature for the market, provides greater scope for banks to reward
loyalty with innovative offerings while increasing customer retention and improving
cross-selling.
• Customers want more personalized service. This doesn’t mean targeted products
designed for the individual, but it does mean that the bank has to know the customer, be
knowledgeable about their existing relationship and previous interactions with the bank
and, if the relationship warrants it, assign the customer a personal banker.
Changing the channels on the customer
Our survey highlights a number of important insights with respect to the manner in which
Canadians access their banking services. On an overall basis, our Canadian survey reinforces
a key theme from our global survey results: the “omni channel” model – which assumes
the customer will decide which channel is best suited to serve a particular banking need at
a particular point in time – is continuing to evolve. Specifically our survey highlighted the
following important channel findings.
4
7. Executive summary
“Provide better incentives
[such as reward miles],
not just [the bank’s] own
incentives.”
“Speak to me, offer me
package bundle deals and
offer rebates. I’ve brought my
three children to the bank,
one with a mortgage, student
loans, credit card, RESP, and
two more with credit cards,
but loyalty is not rewarded.”
5
8. Executive summary
“Make it easier to solve issues
over the phone rather than
having to come into branch
with an appointment.”
“I get very good service from
my local branch but other
branches treat me like a
total stranger.”
6
9. Executive summary
• The branch still very important, but its role is changing. The branch remains a
dominant channel for Canadians to seek advice and obtain products, especially when
it comes to big decisions such as mortgages and other large-purchase financing.
However, customers are looking for innovations that make banking through this channel
more convenient. Forward-looking banks have an opportunity to capitalize on these
expectations and differentiate themselves in the market.
• Social media presents a unique challenge. Canadians are among the most engaged in
social media in the world, yet many organizations are struggling to find a way to engage
their customers. According to our research, 43% of respondents do not want to have any
interactions with their main bank through social media.
• Customers want an improved cross-channel experience. While the branch remains
the key channel for advice and purchases, customers highly value online channels for
simpler transactions. Therefore, the ability to move seamlessly from one channel to
another is becoming increasingly important. For example, according to our research,
47% of respondents would switch to a bank that would provide the ability to start a
product purchase in one channel and complete it in another. While banks would argue
that they provide this today, the reality is that for the most part the experience is not
smooth and does not provide the seamless experience customers are seeking.
Implications for Canadian financial institutions
It’s clear from our findings that customers want more from their banks. How should banks
best respond? Banks will need to reconsider how they interact with their customers by
ensuring that they put the customer at the centre of their evolving business model by taking
the following first key actions.
Focus on key customer interactions. Banks focusing on improving everyday service should
concentrate their transformation efforts on the most critical customer interactions, such as
account opening, lost/stolen cards and complaints. Transforming these critical interactions
will not only improve the basics, it will also lower the cost to serve as error rates and manual
interventions are reduced. Banks should consider low customer satisfaction with basic
services such as payments and fraud protection unacceptable.
Enhancing the speed and effectiveness of complaint management is also vital.
Improvements to other critical everyday interactions should create a virtuous circle,
reducing the strain on complaint handling and other customer touchpoints.
Deepen and better leverage customer insights. In a broader market place which
increasingly raise consumer expectations regarding the personalization of customer
experiences and offers, Canadian financial institutions need to better understand their
customer base. To maximize revenue while keeping costs under control, retail banks need to
gain a deep understanding of who their most loyal and profitable customers are in order to
differentially invest in how they interact and serve them.
But customer insight and segmentation needs to move beyond basic dimensions of
profitability, income, age and geographic location. Successful financial institutions will
need to supplement their traditional analytics with a better understanding of customers’
behaviour, lifestyles, attitudes, networks and influencing circles. While such increased
personalization will become an important capability for differentiation and a way to
reward loyal customers profitably, there is consensus that its delivery will pose significant
behavioural, data and system challenges.
7
10. Executive summary
Deliver the cross-channel experience. Banks need to use customer data across channels
to provide the fully integrated channel experience customers are looking for. And they need
to drive digital usage for simple transactions, thereby allowing the branch channel to better
focus on providing the added value customers are seeking — namely, advice.
Branches will remain a key component of the customer proposition. At the height of the
internet boom, there was a growing consensus that technology would render the bank
branch obsolete. Yet as our survey demonstrates, rumours of the demise of the branch have
been greatly exaggerated. If anything, the branch is becoming even more important at a
time when retail banks are competing for new, high-value customers.
Customers recognize the role of the branch in their relationship with their bank. Seven out
of 10 respondents say that the majority of their product purchases take place through the
branch network or face to face.
But despite being a vital channel for sales and advice, branch networks will need to
transform. By reframing the branch network as a revenue-generating channel rather than
a cost or servicing centre, retail banks can improve the cost-to-income ratio of their branch
networks. This might involve the reformatting of branches to increase their focus on sales
and advice, the reallocation of resources to branches with higher customer footprints, or
the incorporation of technology into branches to ensure that simple transactions can still be
completed cost effectively and efficiently.
As well, this increased role for sales and advice in branch networks will require new skills
and training among employees who have face-to-face relationships. Yet, even more critical
than having the right resources in the right channels will be the need to adopt a seamless
multi-channel approach. In the “omni channel” universe, customers will increasingly expect
to be able to seamlessly move from one channel to another, and will increasingly demand
consistent service regardless of whether they opt to conduct a transaction online, through a
call centre or in a branch.
The way forward
Taken as whole, these actions represent a transformation of how financial institutions in
Canada have traditionally operated their retail banking units. As such, this transformation
must be driven by the top and encompass the whole of the retail bank: front, back and
middle. Fundamental redesign of the business model may be necessary to create the
blueprint for future success. Setting the culture and the tone from the top will be key
to ensuring that the customer is put at the centre of everything the bank does, such as
defining executive ownership of key cross-bank processes that drive performance and
deliver on the basics that customers demand.
As with all transformations, making use of technological capabilities will also be key —
investment will become increasingly important in the areas of customer insight, process
automation and cross channel integration. At a time when banks are concerned about rising
costs and declining growth, the increased leverage of technology offers a rare opportunity
to both improve customer service and reduce the cost base. The opportunity presented to
the financial institutions who successfully execute on this transformation is significant by
helping to protect a future of customer growth, profitability and shareholder value.
8
11. Generally happy with
their banks
Canadian financial institutions can
be proud of the satisfaction and
loyalty levels they have achieved
with their customers.
The overall level of satisfaction with banks is high, with 70% of
Canadians stating that they are very satisfied with their main
financial institution. This has contributed in part to the notable
high levels of loyalty that Canadians have towards their banks —
71% have been with their current financial institution for over a
decade. Atlantic Canadians and Quebec residents appear to be
the most loyal, with 68% and 62%, respectively, banking with the
same institution for over 15 years.
Overall satisfaction with main financial institution (by age group)
100%
Not satisfied
Satisfied
85%
80%
74%
60%
65%
63%
66%
64%
35-44
45-54
40%
20%
0%
18-24
25-34
55-64
65+
9
12. Generally happy with
their banks
Tenure at current financial institution
(by age group)
100%
15+ Years
31.9%
34.3%
52.3%
67.4%
77.4%
83.2%
80%
10-14 Years
5-9 Years
1-4 Years
60%
Less than one year
40%
20%
0%
10
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
13. Generally happy with
their banks
Despite high levels of satisfaction,
customers continue to look for an
improved banking experience
Although there are strong satisfaction and loyalty levels, attrition
has taken place. Approximately 14% of respondents — most of
them between 18 and 44 years old — have switched their main
bank in the past five years. And despite perceptions around
the challenges of moving financial products from one financial
institution to another, most of the switchers, 70%, say switching
was easy.
With the highly competitive retail banking environment and ease of switching, financial
institutions cannot afford to give any of their customers reason to consider switching their
banking relationship to a competitor.
Have switched institutions
in the last five years
Have switched institutions in the
last five years (by age group)
25%
14%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
11
14. Banks should focus
on three key themes
“When disputes arise,
they should deal with
them fairly.”
Example market response: an
international retail bank has
invested in enterprise complainthandling software to enable it to
capture, manage and analyze
complaints to improve customer
service efficiency and boost
customer satisfaction.
12
15. Banks should focus
on three key themes
Get the basics right
Securing customer information, quick customer issue resolution
and the customer on-boarding process are critical basics for
banks to master before they start considering strategies that can
“wow” their customers.
Customers feel strongly that securing their personal information and issue resolution are
particularly important when they consider switching their main financial institution. Over
85% of respondents stated that they would be likely to switch their main bank if their current
financial institution failed to properly secure their financial information and there was an
unanticipated personal information leakage.
Similarly, over 85% of respondents noted that they would switch to another bank if their
current bank could not resolve an issue after the first contact or multiple contacts, and did
not follow up on the issue.
Approximately 70% of respondents would switch their main financial institution if their
current bank made an error when opening or closing their account.
1
13
16. Banks should focus
on three key themes
Financial institutions need to focus on key customer interactions such as account
opening, lost/stolen cards and complaint handling. Having met fundamental customer
needs at each key touchpoint, financial institutions will have a solid foundation to go
above and beyond with additional value-adding strategies that can help them retain
existing customers and attract new ones.
Likelihood of switching financial institution if situation were to occur:
% of respondents
FI didn’t follow direction when
opening/closing an account and
made an error
70.5%
29.5%
Issue
resolution
Contacted FI multiple times about
an issue without a response
85.3%
14.7%
Data
security
FI failed to properly secure your
financial information resulting in
your account being compromised
87.8%
12.4%
On
boarding
0
20%
Likely
14
40%
Unlikely
60%
80%
100%
18. Generally happy with
their banks
“Treat their customers
as though they mattered
and appreciate their
loyalty!”
Example market response: an
international bank offers an
offset deposit account that allows
customers to connect their savings
account to their home loan. Money
deposited into the account counts
towards their mortgage and
reduces the amount of interest
they have to pay.
16
19. Banks should focus
on three key themes
Putting the “personal” in
personal banking
Customers today see their individual needs as unique and expect
their financial institutions to cater to them on a personal level
through custom pricing for products and services that take into
account their loyalty, as well as personalized advice and service.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of respondents would be likely to switch banks if a competitor
offered the option to bundle multiple products to receive additional discounts.
Today, customers feel that their loyalty is often not rewarded when they are considered for
new products. This sentiment is reported particularly highly by respondents between the
ages of 25 and 34, who are building up their wealth and purchasing their first home, as well
as those between 45 and 54 years old, who are at the peak of their career and may have
substantial investments with their banks.
Likelihood to switch to another financial institution if they allowed
you to bundle multiple products to receive a discount (by age group).
70%
64.2%
60%
63.6%
58.6%
50%
57.3%
53%
54.4%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
18 to 24
2
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65+
17
20. Banks should focus
on three key themes
To retain customers and maintain satisfaction, banks should seek opportunities to establish
programs to reward loyal customers and increase cross-selling opportunities. The challenge
is in understanding customers’ relationships with the bank and orchestrating product and
pricing strategies across multiple business lines and product groups.
Canadians have emphasized the importance of the provision of personalized service and
advice and are likely to switch their business to a bank that they believe provides that
service.
Over 65% of respondents said it was important to have a personal banking representative
who understands their unique needs, is aware of their existing relationship with the bank
and is familiar with previous interactions they’ve had with the bank. And 67% of respondents
said that other banking representatives should also be aware of customers’ existing product
portfolios and previous conversations with the bank, as long as it leads to better advice
and service.
Over 40% of respondents stated that they would switch their main financial institution
if another bank offered a personal banking representative and if representatives were
knowledgeable about previous interactions with the bank.
It’s critical that banks understand their customer base if they’re going to be able to create
personalized tactics that cater to individual customers’ needs.
Segmentation analysis will need to evolve from using traditional age, income and geographic
information to capturing customer behaviour, lifestyles, attitudes, networks and influences.
With deep understanding of customers and their profitability financial institutions will
be able to create personalized advice and service offerings that could lead to a highly
differentiated customer experience while keeping costs under control.
Importance of main financial institution offering specific service:
Information about banking products & services you
currently use is accessible to different people within
your financial institution so they can provide you with
the best advice based on your personal situation
65%
Representatives of your financial institution are
knowledgeable about previous conversations you had
with other people at your FI, so you don’t have to
keep repeating yourself
67%
Your financial institution assigns you a personal
banking representative, who knows you and your
unique needs
65%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80
60%
80%
100%
Features that would drive a Canadians to consider
switching financial institutions if offered at another:
Assigns a personal banking rep that
knows you and your unique needs
44%
FI reps are knowledgeable about
previous conversation so you don’t
have to repeat yourself
43%
FI rep contacts you from time-to-time to inform
you of new products better suited to your
particular needs
18
Important
Unimportant
29%
0%
20%
40%
100%
21. Banks should focus
on three key themes
“Proactively meet my
needs, look at lifestyle or
age related changes and
reach out to me.”
Example market response:
Global bank issued RFID tags
for private banking customers
that enable the customer to
be recognized when entering
the branch, to offer more
differentiated, personalized
service.
19
22. Banks should focus
on three key themes
“Make more in-branchonly services available
online or on the phone.”
Example market response:
large European asset
management firm invested
in a Business Process
Management solution to
enable clients to begin a
product purchase in one
channel and seamlessly
transfer to another channel
to complete the purchase
if necessary.
“Be relevant. [For example,]
have a mobile banking
app, allow online access to
budget/money programs.”
Example market response:
a number of Canadian banks and
credit unions have launched or are
in the process of launching the
ability for customers to deposit
cheques by taking a picture of the
cheque with their smartphone
or tablet.
20
23. Banks should focus
on three key themes
Changing channels on the customer
Canadians prefer to seek advice and obtain products in person
at bank branches more than any other channel, especially when
it comes to big decisions such as mortgages and other largepurchase financing. In addition, customers prefer selecting
chequing, savings or other deposit accounts in person.
Seeking
advice
Determining financing for new home 64%
Determining financing for other large purchase 62%
Selecting most appropriate account 59%
82% New mortgage
74% Line of credit
71% Chequing/Savings/Deposit account
Obtaining
products
While the branch is still the dominant channel when it comes to seeking advice and obtaining
products, the emergence of new self-service online and mobile channels requires careful
integration if banks want to create differentiated customer experiences.
Customers are looking for innovations that make banking more convenient. Banks have
an opportunity to capitalize on this and differentiate themselves in the market through
offerings such as the “digital wallet” — the capability to conduct transactions electronically.
Two-thirds (67%) of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 who own a smartphone are
interested in using a digital wallet. The majority (88%) of respondents in this age bracket
currently own a smartphone.
3
21
24. Banks should focus
on three key themes
The emergence of new self-service channels will force banks to rethink how customers
purchase their products.
Canada has one of the highest rates of penetration of social networks around the globe.
But while Canadians are highly engaged in social media, financial institutions struggle with
how they can engage their customers in a conversation. According to our research, 43% of
respondents — most of them 45 years old and up — do not want to have any interactions with
their main bank through social media.
Customers look for a seamless cross-channel experience. Nearly half (47%) of respondents
would switch to another financial institution if it offered the ability to start product
purchases in one channel and complete them in another.
By leveraging customer data across channels, financial institutions will be able to design and
provide a fully integrated experience. Careful design of cross-channel customer experience
may not only lead to more convenient banking and a way to differentiate banking advice and
service offerings. It may also lead to a significant reduction in the cost to serve by driving
customers to lower-cost channels for basic service transactions, while refocusing the branch
network on more revenue-generating activities.
How often do you use the following types of social media?
80%
70%
66%
60%
50%
40%
30%
27%
24%
20%
14%
15%
13%
Use social media at least once a week
22
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25. Conclusions
Implications for Canadian
financial institutions
Canadian banking customers’ behaviour, attitudes and
expectations continue to evolve. Our survey shows that Canadian
banks can rightly be proud of how loyal and satisfied their
customers are. However, in this highly competitive, challenging
market, banks cannot stand still and must continue to invest in
their customers if they wish to continue to succeed.
Global trends are also emerging around multi-banking and the threat of new entrants into
the retail banking market from non-financial services industries, putting further strain
on customer loyalty and requiring Canadian banks to re-evaluate their customer-focused
strategies.
Banks need to meet the basic needs of their customers, but beyond that they need to know
their customers, reward their loyalty and enable them to interact in a seamless way with the
bank — when, where and how the customers want.
To create the blueprint for future success, financial institutions will need to go through a
fundamental transformation that will encompass the whole of the retail bank. Customercentric design needs to become a part of the culture and the tone from the top. Executive
ownership of key cross-bank processes will be critical to drive performance and deliver
results.
Technology will play an increasingly important role to enable financial institutions to garner
a deep understanding of customers’ needs and preferences, in improving and creating a
differentiated customer experience, as well as in reducing the cost base.
Methodology
This report presents the results of an online survey of over 2,400 Canadian banking
customers aged 18 years and older. The study was commissioned by EY and research was
conducted by TNS in December 2012. Results are weighted to the actual population of
Canada, according to Statistics Canada data, based on region, gender, age and
household income.
23
26. Contact us
To learn more about this survey, and how we can help
you achieve your growth goals, contact your EY advisor
or one of the following members of our team:
Paul Battista
Partner, Canadian Financial Services Advisory Leader
+1 416 943 3820 | paul.a.battista@ca.ey.com
Julian Jordan
Senior Manager, Financial Services Customer Lead
+1 416 943 3057 | julian.jordan@ca.ey.com