From traditional to next generation customer service strategies in the banking sector: a case study of bank of Cyprus in Greece
Μπελλής, Αναστάσιος Α.
The customer service is of great importance for any company regardless of the sector that it operates. This conclusion is drawn from both everyday practice and scientific research and stands for the banking sector as well. Today’s customers buying decisions are not based simply on the quality of the product but with the relationship they have with the company. Ensuring customer satisfaction is the key to success and banks are actively engaged in studying and exploring the conceptual foundations of managing relationships with the customers. It has been a big concern of banks of late after it was found that including corporate image and brand reputation are factors that impact bank customer loyalty and trust.
In the present study the main aim was to investigate what determines the level of customer satisfaction, loyalty and trust in a bank and to perform a research on the level of customer service quality and satisfaction and modern technology adoption (e.g. internet banking) in the banking sector, choosing for this purpose the Bank of Cyprus in Greece, as a bank that has nationwide service network. A questionnaire has been designed and used to collect data from 100 customers/respondents. The majority of respondents declared that they are very satisfied with the service provided in general and that they almost always get prompt service whenever they visit the branch.
Last but not least, there is a part of the questionnaire aiming at the possible important role and usage of the big fashion trend of our days called Social Networking sites within banking, as it brings along a fast communication tool, with a great flexibility and low cost. Can the bank’s brand image further be strengthened through social media sites? The results obtained indicate that bank customers in Greece are very skeptical in using such sites for banking transactions and prefer the traditional visit to a bank branch.
