More than half of the customers of UK financial services brands would be willing to spend more – potentially equating to billions – if only they felt more valued by them, according to new research.
A new report based on a survey of 1,200 UK consumers was carried out to better understand the concerns of financial services customers.
The research found that more than half 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: £2.6 billion spent on debit cards, £2.3 billion on credit cards, £2.3 billion on car insurance, £1.9 billion on home insurance, £1.7 billion on mortgage lenders, and finally £1.6 billion on life insurance. Moreover, 15 per cent of people would spend more than £100 extra per year.
More than one third of people do not feel valued by their current bank; while one in ten do not feel valued at all by bank brands. Nearly a third of people do not feel valued by their credit card provider, just over a third do not feel valued by their home insurance company and 22 per cent do not feel valued by their life insurance company.
Communication is also a concern that 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, as well as people with an income above that bracket.
The study uncovered a number of issues around how financial services brands communicate with their customers, including lack of timely, relevant, personalised and helpful information, and general misunderstanding of financial circumstances.
The report also ranked 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, followed by Nationwide and RBS.
Rob Manning, Strategy Director, Jacob Bailey Group, said: “In an age dominated by digitisation, convenience and personalisation, the financial services sector has never been under so much pressure to evolve.
“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.”
