Loyal customers are the best customers to keep a business thriving. In financial services, loyal customers are the most likely to keep their business with the same provider, purchase additional products, and even make recommendations to their network. Loyalty does not develop overnight, however; financial service providers need to make smart efforts to win the loyalty of their customers. Readers of this report will learn what it takes to develop customer loyalty and what it might mean to keep it, as well as what others in the industry are doing to accomplish the same goal.

The concept of loyalty is discussed from a different perspective than previous Mintel’s reports. Loyalty is defined beyond rewards programs and looks at key consumers’ behaviors and attitudes that inform their views on their providers, which then impact their loyalty. Factors correlated to loyalty, such as satisfaction with the provider and its representatives, likelihood to recommend, past purchasing behaviors, are addressed in this report.

In addition, the loyalty index included in this report is a formula that measures loyalty to primary banking provider. The loyalty score is built upon metrics such as satisfaction rating with overall experience and representatives from primary banking provider, likelihood to recommend any financial services provider, actual recommendations to family and friends, and lastly past purchasing behaviors.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Lighspeed/GMI to explore consumer attitudes toward the role of loyalty in financial services. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in January 2015 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS). The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during August 2013-September 2014, and the results are based on the sample of 23,097 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of adults aged 18+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively, at their leisure, or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.

All estimated mail volume data and consumer direct mail marketing creatives are provided by Mintel Comperemedia.

Mintel Comperemedia is a searchable competitive database tracking direct mail, print and online advertising in the U.S. and Canada, as well as email in the U.S. Comperemedia tracks information across eight sectors: Banking, Credit Card, Investments, Insurance, Mortgage and Loan, Telecom, Travel and Leisure, and Automotive.

For more information, please contact Account Services Management at 1.312.450.6353 or www.mintel.com.

The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:

Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:

* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers