To Have and to Hold: BOQ Survey Reveals Australians Have the Longest Relationship With Their Bank

Wednesday, 03/07/2013

According to a national BOQ study announced today, the relationship Australians forge with their bank is the longest compared to other major services, with those surveyed reporting they had banked with the same financial institution for an average of 16 years. 

The BOQ Professional Partnerships Survey compared the average relationship length of many popular service providers, including doctors and lawyers (both 11 years), accountants and dentists (both nine years), veterinarians and mobile phone carriers (both eight years) and mechanics (six years), with financial institutions leading the way with a gap of almost five years. 

The research also revealed that Australians scale satisfaction with their main financial institution as 7.9 out of 10, with BOQ customers rating their satisfaction higher at 8.6 out of 10, compared to people banking with the big four at 7.7. 

Jon Sutton, BOQ Chief Operating Officer, said “The BOQ Professional Partnerships Survey revealed that Australians stay with their main financial institution for an average of 16 years, with those over 35 years old remaining with their bank for nearly two decades. These figures certainly reflect the importance that many of us place on choosing a trustworthy financial institution. 

“Interestingly, the survey also revealed that despite over half (55%) of Australians being aware of the government introduced Australian Banking Reforms last year, the majority of these (93%) have remained with their bank, which indicates that perhaps many Australians aren’t shopping around for a better deal.   

“Earlier this month we launched our new branding campaign and we are ready to prove that it’s possible to love a bank. Many of Australia’s smaller banks are actually owned by the Big 4 which contributes to a misleading impression of choice. BOQ is completely independent, so we offer Australians a genuine alternative and aim to bring a more personalised approach to banking”, continued Mr Sutton.
 
“We were very pleased to see our customers rated us higher than the national average in terms of their satisfaction with the Big 4 Banks. Our relationships are at the heart of everything that we do. That said, we don’t want our customers to just be satisfied, we want to challenge the way they perceive banking.”

The BOQ Professional Partnerships Survey Key Findings:  

  • Of a list of 15 common professional services, Australians spend the following amount of time with each service provider:
    • Financial institution (16 years)
    • Doctor (11 years)
    • Lawyer (11 years)
    • Accountant (9 years)
    • Dentist (9 years)
    • Vet (8 years)
    • Mobile phone carrier (8 years)
    • Dry cleaner (7 years)
    • Hairdresser/barber (7 years)
    • Mechanic (6 years)
    • Electrician (5 years)
    • Plumber (5 years)
    • Beautician/manicurist (5 years)
    • Personal trainer/fitness instructor (3 years)
    • Babysitter (2 years).
  • The average satisfaction score for main financial institutions was 7.9/10. Customers with the non-big four rated their customer satisfaction at 8.2/10, Big four customers rated their satisfaction at 7.7/10 and BOQ customers rated at 8.6/10.
  • 55% of Australians are aware of the Australian Banking Reforms, however 93% of these have stayed with their bank.   

* The BOQ Professional Partnerships Survey was commissioned by BOQ and conducted by D&M research in June 2013. 1024 respondents took part in the survey resulting in a +-error rate of 5.5 at a 95% confidence level. The sample was randomly selected from the Research Now Permission Panel of over 170,000 panellists. A boost was conducted among Bank of Queensland Customers (n=34 BoQ as Main Financial Institution).