Omaha, Nebraska April 11, 2012 – The MSR Group today announced that Bank of the West is the recipient of its APECS® Customer Advocacy Award for the Western Region for the third consecutive year.
This award is given to the client retail banking organization receiving the highest Net Advocacy Rating (NAR®) among its customers within their respective region. To qualify as a potential recipient, clients must have achieved a rating significantly higher than the national or regional average (whichever is higher) and rank highest among all APECS® clients. Bank of the West posted a 2011 Net Advocacy Rating which is 15% higher than the 2011 APECS® West Average and significantly higher than many of the nation’s largest banks, including Bank of America, Chase, US Bank and Wells Fargo, to name a few.
“For us, everything starts with how we take care of the customer. We focus first on how our actions help our customers. From there, they get to decide if we’re doing a good job. Our customers have a high expectation of us, and we want to deliver on that,” said Andy Harmening, head of Bank of the West’s Regional Banking Group and senior executive vice president. “Measuring net advocacy is a key way to let our customers tell us if we are succeeding. We’re thrilled that they continue to rank us highly, as the APECS® award shows. Having their support is fundamental to our success.”
Ratings are based on results from The MSR Group’s National Consumer Banking Survey, a telephone study which collects feedback on customer satisfaction and advocacy for more than 100 banks and credit unions. To ensure accurate benchmark comparisons for clients, an equal number of surveys are conducted within each of four quadrants across the US as defined by the US Census Bureau. This rolling tracking study interviews 2,400 retail banking consumers annually, employing a Random Digit Dialing (RDD) technique. Respondents are screened to be at least 21 years of age and represent customers who have utilized their bank within the previous two weeks for at least one of the following transaction types: branch visit, ATM, Internet, mobile banking or call center.
“Bank of the West understands the important role Advocates play in their organization’s success. They continue to be an excellent example of how actively managing customer satisfaction and focusing on building the Advocate segment of your consumer base improves overall service delivery and produces measurable results,” said The MSR Group President Dick Worick.
Founded in 1874, $62.4 billion-asset Bank of the West, member FDIC and equal housing lender, offers a full range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 700 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, one of the world’s largest and best rated banks with nearly 200,000 employees in 80 countries. (Rated AA- by Standard & Poor’s as of October 14, 2011).
The MSR Group is a nationally recognized full-service market research company. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, The MSR Group offers a full complement of quantitative and qualitative methodologies across the financial, retail, advertising and agricultural industries. The firm’s proprietary APECS® System specializes in providing “real-time” voice of the customer research for financial institutions.
