COV E R STORY
The BEST Banks
In The Mid Atlantic Region
A
Our Annual Survey Shows What Customers Think The Top Banks Are
nnually, the prestigious Banking Choice Awards are presented by American Business Media, publishers of “Banking Mid Atlantic,” and Rivel Banking Benchmarks. Vincent M. Valvo, president and CEO of American Business Media, said, “Customers can choose to bank wherever they want. The Banking Choice Awards determine which banks do it best.” The Banking Choice Awards are based upon the results of the Rivel Banking Benchmarks, the largest and most comprehensive measure of banking customer experience in the world. The benchmarks are conducted independent of any financial institution biannually by Rivel (www.rivel.com), the marketing and investment community research firm and pioneer in the online measurement and tracking of customer experience for banking institutions. Bruce Paul, Rivel’s managing director, said, “The Rivel Banking Benchmarks, part of our CXLign division, help banks increase revenue by giving them a clear, objective view of what their customers really think of them. We eliminate the bias of internal bank surveys in which happy customers are five times more likely to respond than unhappy or ambivalent ones, thus creating skewed (and unrealistic) results. We put your ratings in context, showing the banks exactly how their scores compare to those of their competitors within their local trade area – not to an irrelevant basket of similar-sized banks from other parts of the country.”
American banks. The Benchmarks use the same bestin-class approach used to build the CX programs for the world’s largest banks, now provided to community banks at a small fraction of the cost. “We strongly believe that customer loyalty is a bank’s primary asset. To improve that loyalty, you must measure and track it. The Benchmarks therefore enable banks to understand exactly what their customers and prospects think of them, their people, their channels, and their products so banks can make customer-centric decisions to grow their business,” added Paul. In the Mid Atlantic region, 10,812 interviews were conducted in New Jersey for a total of 282,707 reviews with 238 institutions represented. In Pennsylvania, 17,288 interviews were completed for a total of 415,002 reviews covering 463 institutions. Survey respondents are part of a statistically representative sample of households and businesses in each state. The total respondent pool is representative by geography, gender, income, ethnicity, and age profile of the state, based upon the most recent government census. Given the large sample size, the results are also representative of household penetration and business penetration of each banking institution within each state. The survey is double blind: respondents are not told the subject of the interview beforehand, and we do not know which banks they use before initiating the interview. This approach minimizes bias and provides the most objective results possible. The Customer Experience Benchmarks ask respondents to evaluate up to 53 different metrics ‘We eliminate the bias of internal bank surveys in about each institution they use for which happy customers are five times more likely to banking services. These include respond than unhappy or ambivalent ones, thus creating the following metrics used for the skewed (and unrealistic) results.’ Banking Choice Awards: overall quality, customer service, tools & technology. The Rivel Banking Benchmarks were developed by The Prospect Brand Benchmarks ask respondents Paul, one of the most respected experts in banking about their impressions of banks they do not yet use. research who developed the CX tracking and brand These marketing and brand metrics include community research programs for seven of the top 15 North contribution, measured in the Banking Choice Awards.
14 ISSUE THREE 2020 | BANKING MID ATLANTIC
