USAA Takes Top Spot Among US Banks, Investment Firms, And Insurers
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 26, 2009--
First graph after the numbered items, the URL should read: http://www.forrester.com/go?docid=47992
(sted http://www.forrester.com/go?docid=477992)
The corrected release reads:
FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS SINK TO THEIR LOWEST RATING EVER IN
FORRESTER’S ANNUAL CUSTOMER ADVOCACY RANKING
USAA Takes Top Spot Among US Banks, Investment Firms, And Insurers
With angry and mistrustful customers stung by the worst financial crisis
in more than half a century, US financial services firms fell to their
lowest rating ever in the sixth annual Customer Advocacy ranking by Forrester
Research Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). Perennial standouts USAA and State
Farm Insurance remain the highest-rated companies, former high-flyers
Vanguard and Edward Jones slipped, and full-service brokerage firms like
Morgan Stanley skidded toward the bottom of the rankings. The survey of
more than 5,000 households was conducted in the second half of 2008.
Customer advocacy is the perception on the part of customers that
financial services firms do what’s best for them, not just the firm’s
own bottom line. Forrester’s on-going analysis demonstrates that
customer advocacy drives retention and deepens customer relationships.
Consumers who rate their firm high with regard to customer advocacy are
more likely to save more, borrow more, and buy other products from that
firm and are less likely to switch to another financial services company.
“Given the mistrust and anger that consumers currently have toward the
financial services sector, customer advocacy has never been more
relevant,” said Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst Bill
Doyle. “Customer advocacy has to be more than just a marketing
message. Smart firms have used it as a guiding operating principle to
win back the confidence of American consumers.”
Forrester’s 2009 Customer Advocacy rankings include more than 40
financial services firms. Only eight of these firms or independent
representatives had more than half of their customers rate them high on
customer advocacy:
1. USAA
2. Credit unions
3. Independent financial advisors
4. State Farm Insurance
5. Independent insurance agents
6. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
7. Regional or local banks
8. GEICO
The full rankings are included in the Forrester report “Customer
Advocacy 2009: How Customers Rate US Banks, Investment Firms, And
Insurers,” which is currently available to Forrester clients and can be
purchased directly at http://www.forrester.com/go?docid=47992.
This is the sixth consecutive year that USAA has finished near the top
of the Customer Advocacy rankings. USAA Executive Vice President Wayne
Peacock will be one of the keynote speakers at the Forrester Customer
Experience Forum 2009, June 22-23, 2009, in New York. Customer
advocacy — how it works and what firms need to do to earn customer
advocacy online and through other channels — is the focus of a Forrester
Workshop entitled Winning
The Loyalty Of Financial Services Customers, which will be held June
24, 2009, in New York.
About Forrester Research
Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research
company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global
leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals
in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research,
consumer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive
programs. For more than 25 years, Forrester has been making IT,
marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For
more information, visit www.forrester.com.
© 2009, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester is a
trademark of Forrester Research, Inc.
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
Forrester Research, Inc.
Jon Symons, 617-613-6104
Director,
Media Relations
press@forrester.com
