Study: Malaysian banks offer little CX differentiation to customers

It comes as no surprise that customer experience is the bedrock of businesses today. According to a Forrester study however, the quality of customer experience in banks across Malaysia ranks average with little differentiation between each brand. Based on a survey of more than 2,000 consumers in Malaysia, Forrester’s CX Index benchmarks the CX quality of seven multichannel banks, with Maybank leading at a 65.5 score. The other banks include AmBank, Bank Rakyat, CIMB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Public Bank, and RHB Bank. 

Maybank outperformed all banks in customer retention, with 41% of customers planning to stay with the brand. According to the Forrester study, Maybank received positive emotional feedback from 52% of its customers. The feelings of being understood, respected, confident and happy were among the top positive emotions citied by Maybank's customers. Additionally, the bank had one of the lowest levels of negative emotions from its customers. 

In the study, 60% of Maybank customers said they were able to accomplish their goals when interacting with the brand. Furthermore, customers from Maybank have also said the bank "offers products and services that they need" to process transactions quickly. In the CX quality category, Maybank (59%) edged out CIMB (58%) by 1% for the top spot. Though customers complimented Maybank's web and mobile banking apps, the study said Maybank still had  areas for improvement. According to the study, Maybank received the lowest level of positive feedback when it came to ensuring shorter queues at branches. 

While businesses are emerging stronger after the pandemic, brands must build a well of CX equity, founded on empathetic engagement with its customers and superior service experiences, said the Forrester study.  To achieve this, "CX pros" must have a disciplined approach to envisioning designing, and delivering a consistently high-quality customer experience.

In fact, brands that want to drive their CX quality must continuously improve across three dimensions of the experience. These three dimensions are what Forrester calls the 3Es, "effectiveness, ease, and emotion". Based on CX studies conducted by Forrester, "emotion has the strongest impact on the overall CX score and significantly affects loyalty". In fact, emotions are the key for brands when it comes to building loyalty with the quality of its customer experience. Below are the three points brands need to take note when pivoting towards this strategy. 

1. Brands with higher CX scores maintain a higher emotional ratio 

In tight, competitive markets such as Malaysia, the ability to invoke positive emotions during the brand experience can help brands differentiate themselves and gain an advantage.

2. Feeling confident, happy and valued matters the most to customer loyalty 

Though a customer's feelings towards an experience may change over time, it always matters, said Forrester. For Malaysian customers in 2021, this year was marked as a struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Among customers who felt valued by their bank, 41% plan to remain a customer at that brand, 61% plan to spend more with it, and 69% will recommend it to family or friends. In contrast, among customers who did not feel valued by their provider, 32% plan to stay with the brand, just 3% plan to spend more with it, and only 1% will advocate for the brand.  

3. Feeling annoyed, disappointed, and frustrated drives customers away

Angering customers isn’t as harmful to their loyalty as making them feel annoyed, disappointed, or frustrated. Among customers who felt frustrated with their banks, only 10% remain with the brand, 17% spend more with it and just 14% will recommend it to family or friends. On the other hand, among customers who did not feel frustrated with their banks, 60% plan to stay with their brand, 56% plan to spend more with it and 50% will advocate for it.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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