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Banks drive away internet customers: one in two problems left unsolved
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One in seven customer queries remains unanswered
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Poor quality assistance for high-potential customers
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Hamburg, Germany, September 23rd, 2005 –
62 percent of banks are investing in internet services to sell their products. But credit institutes are still struggling with the rapid online medium: customers are forced to wait an average of 2 days for a specific answer to their e-mail questions - the same time that the postal services would have needed to transport the request in letter form. And one in seven requests never receives a response. These are the results of the recent e-mail response analysis "Credit institutes and e-mail customer service 2005" carried out by novomind AG and M&Oh Research Services. Test persons requested information by e-mail which included details of available loans, savings options, data protection laws and current interest rates.
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Banks are unable to cope with the e-mails they are receiving from customers. However, at least the test showed that three out of four service agents are able to understand the complex customer queries. Nevertheless, just one in 20 bank employees attempts to deal with problems. The result: banks scare off potential customers with slow and unsatisfactory responses. Banks solved just half of all problems identified. Savings banks did particularly badly in the test: employees answered just 43 percent of the questions asked. And their answers were the poorest compared with all other banks tested. Of a possible 100 points which test persons could give for quality of information, e-mail responses from the savings banks averaged just 37 - four points below the average fort he sector as a whole.
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Three out of ten banks refused to answer questions by e-mail. Instead, 24 percent told customers to use an alternative communication channel. Banks tended to ask customers to contact their local branch, in particular private banks at 14 percent. The Dresdner Bank advised 60 percent of its customers to contact their nearest branch rather than provide e-mail assistance.
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At the same time, credit institutes are failing to provide online services for high-potential customers. Questions about investments and financing plans received the poorest-quality responses. Senior citizens looking to take out a 25,000 Euro loan received the worst service. The test persons awarded an average of just 25 points for response quality in this area. Instead, customer service agents concentrated on questions focusing on less profitable options. The highest quality e-mails with a total of 56 points answered questions from clients looking to save just 25 Euros a month.
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Banks keep customers waiting for an answer.
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novomind AG is the leading provider of digital customer communication solutions enabling optimized processes and lower costs. novomind’s products and solutions offer future-oriented customer service, competent, personalized communication and boost customer administration to achieve a more rapid return on investment and long-term, sustainable customer loyalty. The product department’s portfolio includes e-mail management systems, as well as virtual customer services assistants and systems for interactive communication in real time. The novomind services department develops complex e-business applications, including scalable online shop solutions. Leading companies from across the market sectors - including Citibank, Bertelsmann Der Club, EnBW, Mexx, Otto and Travelocity, as well as public sector representatives such as the German Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security (BMGS) - have already successfully implemented novomind systems to boost customer loyalty, turnover and public relations.
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