A new report from Nielsen found that 3.1 million Australians are dissatisfied with their current financial institution and two million plan on switching.

In light of the Royal Banking Commission’s ongoing findings, research conducted by Nielsen found that a quarter of Australians do not trust their main financial institution. According to the report, Australians within Generation X feel the most dissatisfied with their banking, depending on financial organisations more for loans, mortgages and insurance policies.

“When you overlay the marketing and brand attributes of the financial institutions compared to the actual experiences, it becomes apparent there is a huge gulf between what the customer expects and what is being delivered,” says head of financial services and insurance at Nielsen, Jo Brockhurst.

Nielsen’s data showed that 50% of Australians would not recommend their financial institution and over two million plan to switch brands within the next six months. “At Nielsen, we are calling this ‘The Promise Gap’, where the brand marketing and values of a company are not in sync with the customer’s end experience,” continues Brockhurst.

Nielsen says brands need to be conscious of the so-called ‘promise gap’ infiltrating other industries. Brockhurst lists four approaches for brands to ensure a authentic brand experience, as cited by Australian consumers:

• Ease of customer experience – 36%,
• good customer service – 27%,
• value of products or service – 26%,
• company reputation – 20%, and
• staff competency – 20%.

Related: 2018’s most and least reputable companies in Australia »

Brockhurst continues, “Our research indicates that while most Australians nominate better interest rates and lower fees as the primary reasons for switching to another financial institution, other factors such as recommendations from friends and professionals, better customer service and larger product offerings also factored into the decision.”

Further Reading:

• Air New Zealand is still the most reputable company in Australia, but not at home »
• A third of Australians don’t use financial apps and other VoC insights for the financial sector »

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