A woman rushes into a supermarket to buy a few last-minute items for dinner. She’s in a hurry because she has other errands to run. She swipes her debit card at the checkout, but finds her card is declined.

She doesn’t have enough money in her checking account for the transaction. She ignored the opt-in form her financial institution sent, so she didn’t agree to overdraft protection for her debit card purchases.

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There are two words those of us in the Creative Department hate to hear when we’re talking to a client about a promotion: Customer Service.

Oh, we give our clients great service. Certainly. And we appreciate any company that gives us great service either in our professional or private lives.

What bothers us, like nails scraping on the chalkboard, is when we talk to a client about the promotion’s offer and we’re told it centers on or includes “our great customer service.”

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While financial firms look for new revenue streams, they’re also looking to cut costs. One obvious area for savings is statements.

Mailing what must be mailed (NSF notifications, late payments, etc.) with postcards instead of envelopes provides significant (up to 80%) savings and many financial firms are adopting this method.

E-statements  provide even more savings by eliminating postal costs altogether. The cost benefit for the company is pretty straight-forward. Saving over a dollar every statement cycle on a customer adds up quickly.

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As a marketing professional, you work hard to recruit new customers. Now a new statistic shows much of your effort goes to waste. But with the right type of answer, you can improve the numbers.

FACT: Four times as many customers close a checking account due to poor customer service and CSR disputes than they do because they need the money.

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