Within the banking sector, an impeccable reputation and a positive image are worth their weight in gold, and the loss of a good name can result in a definite exodus of customers. However, are the banks that operate in Poland aware of the power that online recommendations have these days and do they take care of their Google Business Profiles? We have verified this on the example of four of them, taking PKO Bank Polski, PEKAO, Credit Agricole and Santander into consideration.
Each year, more and more bank branches are disappearing from the map of Poland. According to data from Inteliace Research, the number of stationary branches in Q1 2023 fell below 10,000 for the first time in 25 years. As recently as 2020, there were 12,500, so the number of stationary bank branches has decreased by more than 2,600 in the last 36 months. There are several reasons for this condition. Firstly, the development of online and mobile banking, which allows customers to do most things remotely, without leaving home. Secondly, the running of stationary branches requires large financial outlays, so in order to optimise costs, banks are closing some branches. Most often those that are the least profitable or visited by few customers.
Why do consumers avoid some branches when there is already a queue for others? Sometimes it is simply due to the bad location of the outlet, but in many cases it is due to a lack of trust in the location, unprofessional service or long waiting times. In the digital age, people do not choose a bank branch at random, but before visiting, they look for reviews of the bank on the internet – usually on Google. If a bank has a large number of positive reviews/feedback on its business card (Google Business Profile) and responds sensitively to the few negative reviews and engages in dialogue with the reviewer, there is a greater chance that a new customer will choose this branch over others in the area. So do the banks operating in Poland take care of their Business Profiles, keep them updated and, most importantly, motivate consumers to leave reviews? This is not always the case, but the big players are also beginning to succeed in this area.
We have used our know-how, including our proprietary solution for data acquisition and profile positioning in Google Business Cards – the growAp.eu application – to prepare an analysis of opinions on selected banks in Q2 2023. How do the results of the survey present themselves?
Number of opinions:
Average rating:
Google Business Profiles are a valuable channel for communicating with customers, as they are the first to catch the attention of people looking for information about a brand on the internet. Unfortunately, there are still very few businesses that take advantage of this potential and do not encourage their customers to leave reviews, do not moderate them or do so in a very unbalanced, not well thought-out way. For banks, the situation looks quite hopeful. Our analysis shows that some of them have done their homework on managing their Company Profile and can boast a high volume of reviews, a high average rating and an appropriate response to the occasional negative comments. Others, unfortunately, have a lot of catching up to do in this respect, as they are definitely losing out to their competitors in terms of both the number and quality of reviews appearing on the Google Business Profile.
Managing a large network of Google Business Profiles is now easier than ever. Dedicated tools available on the market not only help to keep contact information up-to-date, but also to react quickly to signals of dissatisfaction from customers. For the person who reads the opinions of others on the Business Profile – the way a brand has dealt with negative comments makes a big difference in the decision to visit.
Ongoing, organic sourcing of feedback is key, but don’t forget the opportunities available to companies in terms of using customer insights to activate customers to share their opinion after a visit. In our experience, a great many customers are eager to share feedback, but if they are not reminded of this opportunity, they simply will not do so. – Michał Byrczek, Digital Communication Manager at Credit Agricole Bank Polska S.A.
Are you a representative of one of the banks presented above and want to know detailed data, also on a weekly basis? Contact us! We are also open to talking to other representatives of the banking sector. We would be happy to help you better manage your brand’s Google Business Profile. We will take care of a consistent image for your business, enable efficient and good customer contact and, most importantly, deliver real profits with a little effort.
Do you want to know more or do you operate in a different industry? Find out about our analyses of grocery shops, white goods/RTV shops, medical facilities, DIY chains and shoe shops.
Sources:
Report: Number of banking outlets – Q1 2023 – Business Pulse – pb.pl
More than 400 bank outlets lost during the year. However, the employment rate increased – Bankier.pl
Number of bank outlets fell to 9,800, the least in 25 years – Inwestycje.pl
