Latest statistical research findings suggest that financial institutes in Iran lose a considerable number of their
clients every year. Yet, they do not enquire nor research to find the reason and a remedy, but continue to follow the same old pattern, the same old way of running their organizations. They seem to believe that if they are happy with the job they are doing, then their clients must be getting the satisfaction they deserve.

For a quarter of a century, not only our banking system has not made any improvements, in many aspects it has even become worse. The poor client has suffered badly all this time and apparently still has to suffer.
Clients normally become dissatisfied with a financial institute for five major reasons:
1- Clients fail to appreciate the services the financial institute provides
2- The behavior of the institute and/or its employees towards the clients is not as it should be
3- The institute’s policies and tactics are not proper
4- There is presumptuous attitude towards clients by the bank personnel, and
5- There are no improvements.

Before going into the five reasons I should point out that very few banking services are actually offered at our banks. They have not taken customer satisfaction seriously in the past twenty years or so, and have a long way to go before they can claim they are banks or financial institutes. Future and potential clients can only appreciate the services offered by the bank if the bank provides them with appropriate information. This could only take place through effective advertising; but most ads seen nowadays in Iran are mainly announcements
regarding prizes offered by the banks to the ‘lucky’ clients. This is not the way to communicate with customers. Providing customers with information through the media is the most advisable tool of communication.

Ads must be designed more meaningfully to increase awareness and thus demand. As for the behavior of most
of our bank personnel with the clients there is no ‘quality’ in their behavior, nothing to please and attract lients.
Policies and tactics seem to be strange phenomena in our banks. Presumptuous attitudes and lack of effort for continual improvement to meet customer satisfaction are the last two axes with which our banks cut their ropes of survival.

These five major items are considered as the five initial steps towards providing incentives. The loyalty of clients provides the most accurate way of measuring customer satisfaction. Let us ask ourselves what have our banks done to maintain the loyalty of their clients?

Incentives are obviously very important for attracting customers in increasingly large numbers, while keeping the existing clients is of even greater importance than gathering new ones.

To keep our existing clients and attract new ones we must ensure their loyalty. But how do we create loyalty in our clients? How about the following suggestions:
Treat the customers with respect
Make the customers feel they are welcome
Let them have a royal feeling
Show them that customers are always right
Adopt a friendly behavior at all times
Be honest with them
Always find a way to avoid saying ‘no’ as an answer
Keep that smile on your face
Keep yourself well-informed about the services the bank can offer
Avoid asking clients to come back a day later
Be as helpful as you can
Don’t ever lose your patience
Let the customer have an unforgettably good feeling about the bank.

By observing all these points you make sure the customer will come back and remain loyal. Now you may be
able to measure the quality of the services rendered, through customer satisfaction measurement.

As bankers you could best learn from the services offered on flights: safety is the most essential service, and is surely provided more or less by all airlines. But the service given in the cabin during the flight (the food served and the way it is served, the degree of care offered by the stewards and stewardesses etc) are what will
be observed as tangible efforts, and what will create customer satisfaction, and will remain in the minds of the passengers!

It is my opinion that serious efforts are presently being made by the banks for improvement as an atmosphere of competition becomes increasingly prevalent. Let’s hope this article will help.
Editor-in-Chief