Visability Over Volume: What Goes Into an Account Holder Listening Program

Many financial institutions believe they have a good understanding of what their account holders want. After all, leadership sees the numbers and performance metrics; surely they’ve got a handle on what’s going on. But operational data alone rarely tells the entire story, which is why structured client feedback is becoming increasingly important. The challenge is knowing how much insight customer feedback tools can provide, and how much data leaders actually need before they act on what they’re hearing.

Every community financial institution (CFI) — large and small — can and should be listening, but doing so isn’t about reaching large response counts month after month. In reality, most CFIs achieve relevance in precious few places, and listening is more about having an ear to the ground when you assist clients. It’s also about why you collect information and what you do with it. 

In other words, a listening program’s effectiveness is driven more by design than by volume. 

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN?

The experience an account holder has can be the differentiator in whether they return to your branch or choose another. A solid listening program gives you visibility into the following: 

• Friction. These are areas in the client journey where the account holder has trouble or feels confused. Real-life examples include long wait times at a branch, difficulty navigating online features, or unclear documentation around accounts. 
• Service inconsistency. There may be noticeable differences in experience between teams or branches, which points to gaps in training and/or standards.
• Consistent praise. Many branches have that one individual who is able to put a smile on almost anyone’s face. Account holders may continuously highlight the good experiences they have with this person.
• Emerging trends. Listening to what your clients aren’t getting from your CFI, whether that’s financial education tools or more digital options, can be insightful. 

Each bullet point will require a different listening mix, or assortment, of surveys. There are two primary types of surveys used by CFIs: Transaction-triggered feedback, captured immediately after a specific interaction, or relationship-based feedback, which captures how a client feels overall about the institution. 

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU BE ASKING FOR FEEDBACK?

Clients are solicited for feedback from just about every business or service they engage, and CFI leaders are understandably concerned about adding to that pile of requests. And yes, people might be a little worn out from all the feedback requests they’re getting. But they’re also expecting you to ask. They might even be a little bewildered if you don’t ask. 

With that in mind, we typically recommend continuous listening. If you only opt for periodic listening — say, a big survey once a year — you’re only seeing client sentiment at that point in time. But how clients feel about your operation can fluctuate, and listening throughout the year allows a year-round ROI.

HOW MUCH FEEDBACK IS ENOUGH?

You don’t need a flood of customer feedback surveys to manage your institution effectively.  

If one account holder flags something that is clearly wrong, you can fix it. You don’t have to wait until 47 other people complain (possibly publicly) so you can feel confident that you’ve gathered enough data to make a move. Instead, you fix the situation for that specific client — which is bound to make them happy — and signal to employees that yes, you are paying attention to and measuring these things. 

Your CFI will be able to achieve statistical relevance after some transactions, but in other low-volume touchpoints, you’ll look for steady, consistent, and comparable scores…and that’s enough!  

YOU DON’T NEED MORE DATA. JUST SMARTER LISTENING. 

In the nearly 20 years that Avannis has been around, we’ve learned a great deal about what does and doesn’t work for CFIs of all sizes. Gathering client feedback is literally what we do. We believe a clearly defined listening program isn’t just good news for your account holders; it also gives the organization a single direction to pull towards: helping teams deliver the kind of experience they would want for themselves.

When you work with us, we’ll help you set realistic expectations about what a feedback program can (and cannot) deliver based on your organization’s size and goals. We’ll pick out the right surveys for the touchpoints that matter, and help you obtain the amount of data that will help you make the decisions to move your branch forward.