Malaysian banking industry lacking differentiation in CX: index

Singapore – The customer experience (CX) among major banking institutions in Malaysia lacks differentiation in execution, found by the latest index from global research and advisory firm Forrester.

Said index observed the CX environment across Malaysian multichannel banks AmBank, Bank Rakyat, CIMB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Maybank, Public Bank, and RHB Bank. The index notes that all banks fell under the ‘OK’ category, with all scores falling within a very tight range, indicating a lack of differentiation within the industry, primarily driven by the challenge that the Malaysian banks face with building positive emotional engagement with their customers. 

In terms of CX ranking, Maybank emerged as the leading brand and outperformed all other brands in customer retention, with 41% of customers planning to stay with the bank. Across the three key dimensions of CX quality namely ease, effectiveness, and emotion; customers rated Maybank the most effective and easiest to work with. The bank also received positive emotional feedback from 52% of its customers, just below Bank Rakyat’s 53% mark in that category.

“During this tumultuous year, feeling confident, happy, and valued mattered the most to customers to remain loyal to a brand. In such an undifferentiated market, the ability to invoke positive emotions will be critical to delivering differentiated experiences. Our research indicates that 80% of Malaysian firms will be implementing or expanding their digital transformation by the end of 2021 to provide better experiences,” said Tom Mouhsian, principal analyst at Forrester.

Meanwhile, the index noted that among customers in Malaysia who felt valued by their bank, 41% plan to remain a customer, 61% plan to spend more with it, and 69% will recommend it to family or friends. In contrast, among customers who felt frustrated with their bank, only 10% plan to remain with the brand, with 17% planning to spend ‘more’ with it, and just 14% to recommend it to family or friends.

“This investment is not going to be enough, however, to differentiate CX. In addition to investing in digital experiences, businesses must connect emotionally and empathetically with their customers. To achieve this, CX pros must have a disciplined approach to envisioning, designing, and delivering a consistently high-quality customer experience,” Mouhsian concluded.