» The crisis of confidence in banks cannot be overcome with advertising alone

The crisis of confidence in banks cannot be overcome with advertising alone

The current financial crisis is noticeably reflected in declining sales results for banks and savings banks. But although regaining customer trust is the key to more new customers, banks and savings banks are still doing far too little in this regard. According to the study “Rebuilding Damaged Trust” by the management consultancy Marketing Partner, only 23 percent of the more than 4,000 bank and savings bank customers surveyed nationwide between the ages of 18 and 70 believe that their house bank is working hard to regain lost trust.

In contrast, more than 50 percent of those surveyed stated that their house bank had done very little (21 percent) or nothing (30 percent). In addition, due to the efforts of the banks to date, trust in their house bank has increased (very) significantly in only 17 percent of the customers surveyed, but almost 35 percent rated the measures as completely unsuccessful. As a result of the crisis of confidence, customers would increasingly make extensive financial decisions, i.e. only after extensive information, search and decision-making processes, or simply not at all. Commercial banks in particular acted passively, of which only one in five customers believe that the bank is working hard to regain trust that has been lost. In the case of direct banks, 22 percent and of savings banks 23 percent of the customers were in favor, while around 27 percent of the cooperative bank customers surveyed felt that they were being looked after intensively.

In order to regain confidence in banks, the surveyed customers would prefer an active approach to them or active customer proximity (30 percent), better advice (around 23 percent) and generally more transparency, honesty, seriousness, responsibility and security (around 17 percent ) wish. In addition to these rather “soft factors”, “hard factors” such as better prices or conditions also count for around 30 percent of customers. “In our experience, however, price reductions are only taken along and do not develop any confidence-building effect on their own. Communication alone is not enough either. Only by changing the way customers are dealt with can their trust be regained in the long term, ”explains Jörg Baston, banking expert and member of the management team at Marketing Partner.

Banks and savings banks should therefore concentrate on further improving the quality of their advice. In addition, they should not only emphasize the aspect of “security” in a communicative way, but also implement them in concrete, tangible measures at the relevant customer contact points. “The crisis of confidence cannot be overcome through advertising campaigns. Only convincing personal commitment creates trust. Banks and savings banks, which are now working intensively on their customers with specific measures in the entire sales and marketing mix, can emerge stronger from the crisis ”, is the conclusion of Joachim Ramelow, Member of the Management Board at Marketing Partner.