Citibank has reclaimed the top spot in Forrester's 2023 Singapore Banking Customer Experience Index (CX Index™), despite an overall decline in customer experience (CX) quality among multichannel banks in Singapore. The report, published on Wednesday, revealed mixed results and a reshuffling of rankings, with Citibank and DBS Bank improving their CX scores, while Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF), OCBC Bank, and United Overseas Bank (OTC:UOVEY) (UOB) saw declines. HSBC also made its first appearance on the index.
Citibank's rise to the top was attributed to its strategic investments in a voice-of-the-customer program aimed at incorporating customer feedback into service design, employee training, and targeted CX improvements. This focus on delivering emotionally positive experiences has allowed the bank to differentiate itself in a market where customer satisfaction has generally declined compared to the previous year.
The banking industry in Singapore is grappling with rising inflation and living costs, making it challenging for banks to deliver quality CX that meets customer needs and expectations, thereby earning their loyalty. The industry also suffers from a lack of differentiation, as evidenced by a minimal 5.7-point gap between the leader and the last-placed bank on a 100-point scale. This suggests that the state of CX in Singapore's banking sector is at a stalemate, with customers rating it as "poor" or just "OK."
Physical channels like call centers and branches received the lowest rating for CX quality at 58.5 points, compared to digital-only CX at 61.0 points and hybrid CX at 63.1 points. Dane Anderson, SVP of international research and product at Forrester, highlighted this issue: "While investing in digital experiences was a necessity during COVID-19, by overpivoting to focus on digital channels, banks in Singapore risk losing service capacity and neglecting the service quality in physical channels."
Forrester's CX Index surveys underline the importance of how an experience makes customers feel in influencing their loyalty to a brand. Among customers of Singapore's banking industry who felt happy and valued, a significant majority indicated they would stay with their bank, pay more for products, and advocate for the brand.
Citibank Singapore CEO, Brendan Carney, emphasized their approach to providing superior CX: "We listen to our customers every day for feedback on how we can serve them better and provide them with more value, and we invest every day to act on that feedback. Our goal is not just to give great service, but also to offer compelling value as well to generate sustained customer delight."
The 2023 Singapore Banking CX Index is based on a survey of over 1,800 customers in Singapore, benchmarking the CX quality of six multichannel banking brands to determine how they perceive their experiences and how CX drives their loyalty.
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