First ever 'Prospective Customer' Retail Bank Benchmarking study to be released

This Study promises to be the most comprehensive independent Benchmarking Study of the UAE Retail Banking sector.

The Study will bring to Banks, benchmarks for response time and service quality across more than 20 evaluation criteria. Trained and experienced researchers carried out this comprehensive study by focusing on real scenarios where a prospective customer would approach a retail bank via the internet to apply for a new current account, a credit card and a personal loan (at various intervals). This research also included conducting a tele-banking survey looking at similar issues of response time and service quality issues, monitoring the listing positions and rankings of each bank's website address on the most popular internet search engines.

Speaking on the Bank Benchmarking Study, Mr. Robert Keay, Managing Director - Ethos Consultancy says, "With the phenomenal increase in the country's population and the increased demand for banking services; speed, service quality and customer satisfaction are going to be key differentiators for each bank's future success. The Bank Benchmarking Study will help banks get useful feedback on their actual response time and customer service quality aspects of retail banking, which in turn will help them take positive steps to maintain a competitive edge with their customers."

"Banks in UAE face fierce competition in all aspects of Retail Banking. To help improve their services, executives need access to the most accurate and up-to-date information from a trustworthy source. This study will provide reliable information and raw data on how Retail bank's respond to Prospective customer enquiries, which the banks can use to enhance their customer service", Keay adds.

Mr. Philip Forrest, Chairman of The Osprey Partnership, one of the UK's eminent Retail banking market researchers and Customer Service Quality / Customer Loyalty experts, has been instrumental in ensuring the study and subsequent reports are to the highest standard. Philip, who is also Chairman of UK National Business Awards and one of the International Judges for the forthcoming Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum Business Awards explains, "The journey to excellence in delivering customer satisfaction and creating customer loyalty begins the very day a new prospective customer contacts your business and enquires about your services. This study will be instrumental in shaping how UAE retail banks respond to prospective customers in the future".

Perseus Development Corporation, the global leader in Enterprise Feedback Systems is hosting the input data that supports the reports. Perseus has been involved in the interpretation of the data and benchmarking to ensure that the analysis and subsequent reports are valid.

The Benchmark & Service Quality Study will offer three distinct reports: The Executive Summary Report, The Bank Specific - Benchmarking Performance Report and also each bank in the study can obtain Online Access to the Research Input Data. The details for the study will be available at www.ethos.ae . Ethos Consultancy proposes to release the Bank Benchmark Study annually.