A Cross-Sectional Study of Customer Satisfaction among Customer Groups in Retail Banking

Driven by the impetus of broader and deeper market penetration, commercial banks are concentrating on customer satisfaction through customization of services and relationships. Chasing retail segment is a tough job for bankers as this forms the mass market and the banking services should cater to diverse needs of customer groups. Although, there are a number of studies conducted at different regional levels, they focus on customer satisfaction, service quality expectations and gaps. The present study attempts to fill the gap in the Indian context through a survey of retail banking customers belonging to two commercial banks in public and private sector through an analysis of customer perceived satisfaction among different customer groups. Factor analysis of the data extracts three dimensions of satisfaction-with internal marketing, core facilities and contemporary developments. Analysis of variance tests were done to probe for significant differences in satisfaction among customer groups based on bank group, occupation, financial maturity, region and multiple banking habits. In the short-run, reliability-related attributes should be improved through efliective standardized operating procedures, providing up-to-date equipments, employee training and sufficient manpower. In the long run, assurance-related attributes can be transformed through better internal marketing to the employees.