This relationship just isn’t working

Sean Brierley’s article (MW February 19) raises an interesting dilemma: who is responsible for changing customer behaviour in financial services – the customer or the provider?

Perhaps the financial services problem is a little like our obsession with press editorial standards. Why does the British press continue to be among the most virulent and immature in the world? Because that’s the way we like it of course (editors just give the public what they want).

It may not look the same, but it bears some of the same hallmarks. If British consumers voted with their wallets, providers wouldn’t laugh in the face of customer need in the way many currently do.

The fact is that the market is governed by inertia on both sides: on the banks’, for not changing their legacy systems, not having the bottle to challenge their business model or the mettle to evolve their customer model; and on the customers’, for doing precious little about it.

The fact is, Brierley remains an elusive animal; one that new brands are having to engage by coming up with increasingly ridiculous names to generate cut-through.

As with any relationship, I fear there are two sides to this story.

Neil Fox

Director of planning

TDA

Cheltenham, Glos

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