BAI Online

Deborah L. Bianucci President and CEO, BAI

Sacrifice, not Satisfaction...The Key to Improving the Customer Experience

Customer satisfaction measures how a customer feels about a service provider based on current expectations for that industry. Customer sacrifice measures the gap between what a customer really wants and what he or she has to settle for today.

A recent study by BAI Research clearly shows that there is a difference and that minimizing sacrifice creates conditions that drive loyalty. Offering a truly differentiated customer experience is the surest way to win that loyalty.

In their efforts to craft such a customer experience, bankers inevitably have been looking outside the industry for inspiration. Talk to Vernon Hill at Commerce Bank or Ray Davis at Umpqua Bank and they will tell you how important it is to think of the customer experience in ways never imagined in banking. The Geek Squad’s Robert Stephens validates that view.

BAI helps banks in a number of ways to maximize the impact of customer experience on their business with an emphasis on understanding the drivers of deposit growth through new account generation and customer retention. Our benchmarking and consumer research provide unique insights into attitudes of different customer segments and the impact of their financial behavior on bank results. BAI conferences, including BAI Retail Delivery and BAI SmartTactics highlight customer experience success stories from inside and outside the industry. BAI’s Banking Strategies regularly publishes the latest in trends and developments in retail banking. The BAI Graduate School of Retail Banking has a strong focus on building customer experience into a bank’s strategic framework. And, our comprehensive line of training products is designed to prepare the front line for the optimum delivery of a customer experience.

BAI is committed to providing financial services companies with insightful information that can drive improved customer experience and profitability. You can look to BAI for the objective information that will give you perspectives that will increase your successful execution of your strategic retail banking priorities.