Reputation management for banks is now considered an essential strategy for building customer trust and loyalty. With numerous scandals that have rocked the industry, financial institutions like banks have lost consumers’ confidence on a massive scale.
Most banks try to win consumers over and stay profitable by providing better offers than their competitors, but this simply isn’t enough anymore.
The factors affecting consumer trust in banks involve issues of data privacy, transparency on fees and interest rates and poor customer service. While research has shown that people are starting to trust banks again, customer feedback, like what you can read in the Chase online banking reviews and Bank of America reviews, proves there is more work to be done.
Banks with good reputations are expected to maintain their squeaky-clean image despite the rise of social media and online review platforms that can turn an overall positive rating into a negative one in the blink of an eye.
Despite these challenges, reputation management and reputation repair for banks can be manageable tasks. With the right strategy and a little help from the reputation management experts, even the worst-affected banks can improve their online reputation over time.
What Is Reputation Management?
Reputation management, perhaps more commonly known as online reputation management (ORM) in today’s digital-driven world, is a strategy that aims to influence people’s opinions of your company or brand. It involves monitoring customer feedback and acquiring positive reviews from satisfied customers.
For financial institutions, part of the strategy includes monitoring your online banking reviews and responding appropriately. Even banks with good reputations are not safe from a few negative comments online. It’s not uncommon to come across 1-star Bank of America reviews or negative Chase bank reviews from dissatisfied customers.
But in cases where a company’s reputation is severely damaged, ORM can be a solution for reputation repair, using strategies that focus on generating more positive content for your business to counter existing negative feedback online.
How Can Banks Improve Their Reputation Online?
Reputation management for banks is not a one-size-fits-all approach. To be truly effective, banks need to assess their strengths and weaknesses to identify an online reputation strategy that will work for them.
How banks can actively improve their online reputation
Manage Your Online Banking Reviews
Banks need an online reputation management system that monitors customer feedback across all social media and review channels.
Think about it: Gathering all Chase bank reviews from the internet would be an incredibly tedious and time-consuming task. Specialized review monitoring software is far more efficient in collecting all Chase reviews from multiple sources, be it from Google, Yelp or the Better Business Bureau.
Having a review monitoring system enables you to respond to reviews and improve customer experience quickly. There are many kinds of standalone software that can do this, but most companies choose to outsource this task to an online reputation management agency.
It’s also important to remember that responding to both positive and negative reviews is crucial to improving a bank’s reputation. A 2018 online survey revealed that 45 percent of customers are more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews. It assures customers that someone is always on the other side, ready to take care of their concerns.
Be Mindful of Customers’ Needs
COVID-19 has set new standards for banks to respond to customers who are greatly affected by the pandemic. In March 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rolled out regulations which gave banks more flexibility in deploying capital to the “broader economy.”
Some banks quickly changed their policies, waiving ATM and late payment fees, offering mobile and digital banking (as opposed to in-person transactions), extending payment due dates and ensuring easy access to financial services.
Bank of America offered deferrals on home, credit card and auto loan payments via an online portal. In addition to payment deferrals and waived fees, Chase, Capital One and Ally offered online transactions via their website and mobile apps.
Most banks have also published a coronavirus resource guide on their websites, educating their customers on how to manage their finances at this challenging time.
Banks with good reputations are acutely aware of how much customer experience affects their bottom line. A reputable bank should always heed their customers’ needs to gain their trust and keep their loyalty. Responding to a global crisis such as COVID-19 is a defining moment for a bank that can influence its growth or decline in the years to come.
Know Your Customers
Reputable online banks understand and cater to different types of customers. This involves creating a segmented customer database that allows personalized service, making each customer feel like their needs are recognized and met.
A 2109 report by Accenture introduced the four personas of financial consumers. These are:
Pioneers
They are tech-savvy risk-takers who were the earliest fans of reputable online banks. They welcome digital solutions like mobile banking. Eighty-seven percent of this group use their smartphone for bank transactions.
Pragmatists
They are conscious of data privacy and expect financial institutions to serve their interests. They welcome advice, with 95 percent of them preferring to talk to banking experts about managing their finances. Seventy-seven percent don’t have a preferred banking method – as long as they get what they need.
Skeptics
Most of them have had negative experiences with banks. Only 45 percent of them say they are satisfied with their bank’s service. Skeptics have mostly experienced poor customer service and find it difficult to expect anything positive from banking transactions.
Traditionalists
Traditionalists are typically 55 years and older. They value human contact more than digital platforms. Even though they are mature and knowledgeable, 73 percent never use their phones to contact or transact with their bank.
These personas have vastly different requirements from their financial institution of choice, but all of them need to be satisfied with the services they are receiving. It’s a tall ask, but if a bank can focus on catering to its entire audience, an excellent online reputation will soon follow.
Invest in Modern Banking Platforms
Mobile banking, cashless transactions and automation are now revolutionizing the financial services industry because it appeals to younger, technologically adept consumers. In some negative Chase reviews, consumers are disappointed in the lack of digital banking options for their accounts.
Research indicates that 89 percent of American bank account holders use online banking for their transactions. More importantly, 82 percent of these account holders say that having an online banking option is one of the primary reasons they have not switched banks.
Since the pandemic, 63 percent of consumers are now willing to try digital banking methods due to fears of contracting the virus when visiting their banks. The very existence of Chase online banking reviews and online feedback for banks in general is proof enough that consumers are now more open to digital banking methods – banks have an increasingly large online presence.
There is no better time to provide consumers with digital banking options than today. With more Millennials and Gen Z entering financial markets, as well as a pandemic still limiting physical contact, mobile and online banking are highly viable and even preferable solutions that meet customer needs.
Leverage Positive Content
Not all Chase bank reviews are negative. Some loyal Chase customers have published 5-star reviews citing satisfactory products and services. These positive Chase reviews are examples of content that can be used to win over customer trust.
Rather than focusing on negative reviews, take advantage of positive customer reviews and share them across digital channels such as websites and social media profiles.
Showing your audience that you provided excellent customer service improves how people perceive your brand as a reputable bank, even if they have come across negative feedback before.
Some ways to generate positive content include:
• Asking customers for reviews after a successful transaction
• Monitoring online positive feedback from customers and sharing it on your website and social media pages
• Offering multiple options for submitting reviews (website, email, SMS or in-person)
• Reaching out to existing customers and ask for reviews
Tim Clarke, reputation manager for Rize Reviews, had this to say about focusing on review generation to boost your reputation:
Although now is a tough time to satisfy customers, a proactive strategy like Rize can increase the volume and quality of reviews. This will help drown out negative reviews over time if you commit to a client outreach strategy.”
Conclusion
In a constantly changing world, consumers are more cautious about managing their finances. They want to be assured that their money and their data is in good hands with a reputable bank. While this sounds straightforward, providing the level of service that is satisfactory to consumers can be a challenge.
This is why having the right reputation management strategy is crucial to earning customer trust. The goal of being one of the country’s reputable online banks is largely dependent on implementing appropriate reputation management for banks. If there is anything to be learned from reading Chase online banking reviews or Bank of America reviews – or simply looking at your own customer feedback – it’s that the customer’s needs should always be a priority.
To get exceptional and personalized reputation management services, consider giving Rize Reviews a try. We provide 100 percent human assistance in review response, review generation and reputation repair. Talk to us and learn more about our highly successful online reputation management campaigns.
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