Does Loyalty To Your Bank Matter?

Carrying on the tradition

Traditionally being with a Bank for a long period of time had influence when it came to borrowing money or making different arrangements with your bank. It was often the case that a customer had built up at least a casual relationship with their manger or assistant Branch Manager. But does loyalty count for anything at all these days?

Cut throat

Today’s consumer world seems a far more cut and thrust affair than some decades ago. It seems that once we passed through the selfish eighties and entered the more “sharing” nineties we never really left behind that feeling of “me, me, me”. In business it has been profits, profits, profits all the way. The bottom line is king, so ignore the repercussions.

So where is the personal business relationship between Bank and customer in all this?

Need

Bank Managers used to have far more authority within the banking organisation than they do today. They seemed to be able to offer customers a wider selection of interest rates and options. So in the “old days” if you had been a loyal customer that loyalty could be repaid with more favourable rates when you needed them.

Today this does not seem to be the case, the business is more target driven, the manager has less choice because he has to meet his targets and he is assessed by his seniors on performance and profitability. Improved communications within the banks have led to less freedom for individual managers.

Outside influences come into play too. The industry is a slave to legislation; a manager can only give advice on products provided by his bank. This is not good advice for his customers. Anybody wanting real advice on finance of any kind should contact an independent financial advisor, who will be authorised by the FSA to discuss and advise on a whole range of products from different providers.

Consumer loyalty to the Bank

Loyalty of course, goes both ways. So what about customer loyalty to the Banks? Has that changed and does it matter?

A great deal of money is spent every year by businesses of all kinds to evaluate in marketing terms what drives customer loyalty. To get a customer and keep them for a substantial length of time is the Holy Grail for marketeers and CEO’s the length and breadth of Britain.

Ironically, Banking has traditionally had high levels of customer loyalty and today its customer base is still reluctant to change banks even if they know there are better deals elsewhere.

Hassle

Once customers were loyal out of some kind of respect for their bank manager, but then life was more sedentary, customers had their jobs for life, and the throw away disposable society was just in its infancy. Back then all banks offered pretty much the same services and people simply didn’t see why they should change banks.

Today with our supposed improved competitiveness amongst banks and every company in every industry battling for the attention of every consumer,

we are brain washed into thinking that we should change. And indeed we should, if there is a better deal elsewhere, but most of us still don’t. Why not?

Because it’s aggravation; most of us don’t want to think about cancelling all the direct debits from one account and setting them up in another. Doing it would be fine we think, but beneath our reluctance is the solid belief that it will all go wrong. It won’t be an easy task and none of us have time for that in the world we have created for ourselves.

Misguided

So we remain loyal to our bank not because we believe in a commitment which the bank will recognise and hence serve us well when the time is right, but we remain loyal out of apathy.

When loyalty to a bank is driven by apathy does it really count? Does it matter? We don’t know and quite frankly we can’t be bothered to find out!