Go Digital or Perish: The J.D. Power Survey
by Robert McGarvey
The annual J. D. Power U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Survey is out, and most years that is an occasion for a big yawn among credit union executives. Why? Because the report usually is a scorecard of how the big six banks are faring. And who else cares about that?
But this year is different. This year is the era of Covid-19. It’s a time when, suddenly, across the nation, many financial institutions have shuttered their branches and they are pointing customers and members to digital banking, meaning mobile and online.
J.D. Power sets up the battle line that this shift draws: “Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic places constraints on in-person retail banking and forces customers to increase reliance on digital service channels, banks are facing an important test. According to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study… 52% of retail bank customers classified as branch dependent before the COVID-19 pandemic, and successfully transitioning them to digital—without compromising customer experience—will be critical in the weeks and months ahead.”
“With fewer customers visiting branches, it will be important for retail banks to replace the in-person service they would have provided with personalized services delivered instead through digital channels,” added Paul McAdam, senior director, banking intelligence at J.D. Power.
Read that again. McAdam is in effect saying, go digital or perish.
How is your credit union doing?