Human contact still matters the most for improved customer experience, reveals Forrester US 2019 Customer Experience Index, as Navy Federal tops the list
Customers where thought to be losing interest in traditional banks after tech companies started offering financial services. But there seems to be some merit in good old sector expertise, after all, the Navy Federal Credit Union topped the Forrester US 2019 Customer Experience Index, proving that banks understand money better than tech companies do.
Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA have topped Forrester’s Customer Experience Index across industries for the second consecutive year, putting them ahead of retailers including Lexus, QVC, Zappos, and Amazon. These two banks are ranked top in CX elite brands that are recognized in the top 5% of CX quality across industries.
Forrester surveyed more than 100,000 US consumers who rated Navy Federal as the top multi-channel bank. USAA is rated as the best digital-only bank for customer experience. Conducted for the 5th year, Forrester’s survey included 260 brands across 16 industries. In the study, respondents were asked about communication, customer service, pricing and fees, website and mobile experiences, and day-to-day banking.
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According to the findings of the survey, 14% of brands achieved a significantly higher score; six industry averages rose, and only 5% of brands saw a declined score. The average scores of the direct banking, and some other service provider industries rose slightly, among which health insurers emerged as the top-performing industries.
In the announcement release, Carrie Johnson, Forrester Chief Research Officer, stated, “This year’s CX Index results clearly show that brands are on the right path but still have a long way to go. With customers in the driver’s seat and heightened consumer interest in organizations’ corporate values when making buying decisions, how an experience makes customers feel has a bigger influence on their brand loyalty than any other factor. That’s why it’s critical to understand the intersection of in-the-moment customer feedback and which CX drivers matter most to customers and your bottom line.”
The survey also revealed that emotions play an essential role in differentiating brands. It is emotions that have a more significant impact on brand loyalty over ease of use.
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According to experts, even though tech has evolved, but the need for human contact is what has brought Navy Federal at the top. Successful customer engagement for Navy Federal is enabled by the physical branch presence. Even though most of its members are under 35 years old, the financial service provider prioritizes branch experience as they know that people want personal contact while taking big life decisions. Though the credit union has digital products, there are 332 branches of Navy Federal across the world.
This year, the positive signs indicate that more brands are improving their CX. A slight improvement to a brand’s customer experience quality can add millions of dollars of revenue by increasing share of wallet and reducing customer churn. Superior CX also leads to reduced service costs and decreases the cost of customer acquisition, creating a through word of mouth connect.
