A new global report released today by Braze, a comprehensive customer engagement platform, reveals a huge gulf between how banks are communicating with customers and what they actually want.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of UK consumers want to receive communications from financial services companies less than once a month. However, almost half (49%) of banks are sending communications at least a few times a week. This disparity means that over half (52%) of UK consumers are dissatisfied with the way financial services companies communicate with them, more than any other Western nation in a new report  “Banking on the Customer Journey: 2022 Financial Services Insights”.

Yet financial services leaders are overly confident about the customer experience they are providing. When marketers at financial services brands were surveyed, the vast majority (89%) believe customers are extremely or very satisfied with their messaging.

Financial services brands are also not aligned on what’s most important to customers. Global customers rate trustworthiness as the most important factor in a bank (50%) – rising to 54% of UK customers – with low fees on products (17%) coming in a far second globally. However only 15% of marketing execs rank trustworthiness as the top factor customers feel is most important in a bank, showing companies are missing the mark when it comes to meeting customer expectations. 

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The study also uncovered the kinds of communications UK customers want from their banks. Over half (56%) ranked account updates (low balance, deposit confirmations, etc.) as the most preferred, with only 14% of consumers selecting promotional offers, 13% selecting information on new products and features, 9% on educational content, and a paltry 7% wanted to hear about corporate updates. However, UK consumers are much more interested in promotional offers than other countries, with 48% ranking them in their top 2 most important communications. 

Sending valuable and relevant messages is important to boost overall consumer satisfaction. A whopping 87% of surveyed consumers who feel they receive relevant communications say they are satisfied with their bank, compared to just 50% of those who say they receive irrelevant communications.

Personalising the customer experience with data is also key – 62% of consumers are willing to share more personal information to get more relevant information, but banks must also balance that with stringent standards around data privacy.

James Manderson, SVP Customer Success at Braze said: “With the rise of challenger banks and new fintechs bursting onto the market in recent years, customer experience has become the new battleground for financial services brands. Yet our data shows there is a huge gulf between how customers expect their bank to communicate with them and the reality.”

“With inflation rising fast, it’s never been more important for banks to build trust and maintain strong relationships with customers. One place to start is activating the first-party customer data that financial services firms already have to understand exactly what customers want and what they’re engaging with. This will help banks to provide the personalised, relevant experience customers are craving, without relying on poorer quality third party data.”