Banks ranked on their crisis CX

As consumer banking preferences shift during the pandemic, financial institutions have had to adjust servicing models and communication channels. While some banks have risen to the occasion, and even improved customer experience amid the market disruption, other banks’ customer experiences were negatively impacted, according to a Verint report published Tuesday.

The report consists of the results of two surveys, “Wave 1,” which ran from Feb. 7 to March 17, and “Wave 2,” fielded April 9 to 15. Each survey had about 3,800 respondents, with at least 250 responses for each of the top 15 U.S. banks by asset size. The comparable data revealed how customer banking behavior and preferences have evolved throughout the pandemic.

Bank of America and Citibank posted the greatest gains to their customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) between Waves 1 and 2. CSAT is a market research metric used to gauge satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 100. The Verint rankings are based on five main drivers that impact a consumer’s overall satisfaction with their bank: branches, confidence, products, representatives and services. Both Bank of America and Citi increased their scores by 2.5, to 81.6 and 82.7, respectively. Ally, whose score dropped 0.1 to 84.2, held its lead as the highest-ranked bank overall.

Meanwhile, Regions Bank and TD Bank experienced the biggest drops in CSAT, dropping 2 points to 81.1 and 80.8, respectively. Key Bank, which had the lowest CSAT in Wave 1 at 76.9, increased 1.3 points in the second survey but remained in the bottom spot. The difference between the banks that performed well in the rankings came down to geographic reach, according to Verint researchers.

“Based on our data, we can speculate that the difference comes down to service availability, an important element of satisfaction that gained influence with customers during COVID restrictions,” according to Karly Szczepkowski, a Verint research analyst, and Eric Head, vice president of experience management. “National banks are typically better equipped to handle dramatic shifts in customer behaviors and expectations. Regional banks likely struggled in this area, especially in early April, as they tried to maintain their service offerings.”

Citi, for one, owes its customer experience improvement in part to a pivot in marketing and communications strategy, U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Mary Hines told Bank Innovation. The bank, one of the first to launch a COVID-specific customer assistance program March 9, shifted focus to producing how-to videos for the digital tools it was pushing to alleviate call center volumes. One video on mobile check deposits had more than 27,000 views on the first day, and mobile check deposits outpaced ATM and branch deposit channels, growing to 37% in May from 24% in February, Hines said.

Meanwhile, Bank of America benefitted from pivoting its 13,500-member call center across 40 locations to work from home, which involved procuring more than 10,000 laptops, determining the technological demands of each home office, rerouting call volume and standing up new controls, said Holly O’Neill, chief client care executive at the bank.

Also read: Mobile users drive deposit growth at Bank of America

Looking ahead, clear and frequent communication should be top priorities of financial institutions, according to Verint. The Wave 2 data showed that 88% of all respondents who received COVID-19 communications from their banks found them helpful. Financial institutions that deployed COVID content in March and April received higher satisfaction scores by about 5%. Citi saw firsthand the demand for information during the pandemic, Hines said. COVID-specific communications had an open rate 47% higher than the average open rate and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) communications had a rate of more than 75%.

“As a marketing organization, we’re used to having our set plan and goals we’re trying to measure against, and we focus all year long on those,” Hines said. “We’ve had to really step back and be more agile, and evolve our programs as the world evolves.”

As the bank keeps an open mind about the direction of marketing, Hines said Citi’s communications will focus on PPP forgiveness, the process of rolling off customer relief programs, and pushing other financial tools, such as autopay.

Bank of America, too, is building upon the technology that played a critical role in the past few months, including the digital forms for the Client Assistance Program aimed at financial hardship and the fully digital PPP loan process, O’Neill said. She added the improvement in client experience scores during the pandemic “showcased the strength and flexibility of Bank of America’s high-tech and high-touch model, as well as our ability to adapt to a dynamic environment.”