Forrester’s new Total Experience Score rankings for 25 US banks reveal that banks’ brand promises aren’t resonating and that CX has declined. Forrester’s Total Experience Score measures how well a brand’s promise resonates with both customers and noncustomers and how customers feel about their actual interactions with the brand. Together, these rankings paint a full picture of how well banks are winning over new customers and serving existing ones. Forrester’s new Brand Experience Index measures how well brand perception, across trust, salience, and fit, drives acquisition and retention for both noncustomers and customers. Only six brands earned the “leading” distinction in Forrester’s Total Experience Score growth grid, a map of how a brand wins prospects and serves customers. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. But here’s the kicker: Most banks were tightly clustered in a narrow range, making it hard for any one brand to truly stand out.
- Multichannel vs. direct banks: Who’s winning with prospects and customers? Spoiler alert: It’s not multichannel banks. With an average Total Experience Score of only 56.6 out of 100, US multichannel banks are falling short of expectations. Direct banks fared a little better, scoring 61.8 on average, largely due to prospects’ more positive perception of those brands.
- Navy Federal Credit Union was the gold standard among multichannel banks. Across the board, Navy Federal led the multichannel bank pack on Total Experience Score, along with BX Index and CX Index rankings. Navy Federal’s combined performance with customers and noncustomers propelled it deep into the coveted upper-right “leading” quadrant of our growth grid. Capital One, Chase, and TD Bank also placed in that quadrant.
- American Express National Bank and Charles Schwab Bank led the direct bank brands. On Total Experience Score, American Express National Bank (AMEX) and Charles Schwab Bank led the direct bank pack, but USAA took the lead in the BX Index rankings and Chime was the strongest in the CX Index. Only AMEX and Charles Schwab demonstrated strength at both winning and serving customers.
- Customers think that most banks are middling on trust. Fewer than three out of five customers say that they trust their bank brand; that still lags the industry’s high in 2021. Navy Federal stood out, leading the pack and scoring the highest ratings from customers across all seven levers of trust. For direct banks, USAA came out on top.
- Noncustomers trust banks even less. Around one in five noncustomers say that they trust the multichannel bank brands we studied, and just over one in three said that they trust the direct banks. Those are big gaps compared to how actual customers of those same brands feel. For direct banks, AMEX earned the most trust from noncustomers and Capital One led the way among multichannel banks.