Community Banks All But Ignore a Key Tool Millennials and Gen Z Use to Choose Their New Bank

In a recent review of 40 community banks in the state of Wisconsin, fewer than ten had 20 or more Google reviews and four had no reviews at all. While most business sectors have embraced the power of online reviews to convert new customers, community banks all but ignore the tool in their marketing.

And that’s a shame, because most community bank customers love their bank. Net Promoter Score (NPS) measurements put most community banks above 70 (on a 100 point scale) while regional and national banks clock in with averages between of 30 – 40. The NPS system seeks to measure not just customer satisfaction, but it gauges whether customers like your company so much that they’d tell their friends about it.

 To better understand the role of online reviews in choosing a new bank, the My Marketing Director team surveyed a nationwide, online panel of 522 banking customers who had logged on to any Internet banking tool in the past 30 days. The overall results have a 95% confidence level +/-5.

 The results were eye opening. You can download the full survey summary. Here’s a sample:

• 76% of 18-24 age online bank users agree or strongly agree that they would think twice about switching to a bank or credit union that has few or no online reviews.

• 81% of 18-24 age online bank users agree or strongly agree that online reviews are helpful when choosing a new bank or credit union.

• 85% of 18-24 of current online bank agree or strongly agree that a bank or credit union must have a minimum rating of 4 or 5 stars to seriously consider switching.

 And if those numbers don’t convince you, consider this: 

59% of online bank users 18-24 years of age agree or strongly agree that a bank or credit union’s online reviews are as good as recommendations from friends and family.

 Recommendations from friends or family remains the most effective tool any bank has to recruit new customers. The survey results suggest that online reviews, especially for Millennials and Gen Z, share a similar level of influence.

 Because of the level of service Community Banks thrive on, they should shine in the online review category. Unfortunately, this tool is under used, under appreciated and may explain some of why Millennials and Gen Z choose national and regional banks over strong local options.