Connecting: the routine associations

Summary: Nationalized Banks in India have a massive customer base. Yet relatively, their success with expanding the relationship isn’t comparable.


Nationalized Banks in India have vast networks spread throughout the country.

The network

In the metropolises they have hundreds of branches, e.g., 1016 in Delhi, 985 in Mumbai, 726 in Kolkata, and so on, besides catering to smaller cities, towns and far-flung rural areas.

Obviously, their customer complements are massive. Multinational Banks that have branches in tens at most, like say, 15 in Kolkata, and nothing in rural areas, can hardly compete with their numbers.

Mandatory association

The bulk of customers in the nationalized banking service are governmental employees/pensioners regularly receiving remittances into their accounts.

The association is mandatory ruled by legislative and bureaucratic norms.

New initiatives

Improving the quality of goods and services is generally perceived key to generating business. Many companies invest heavily in quality improvements and loyalty programmes.

But success with the new initiatives is mixed, rather than hugely successful.

The cost of retaining current customers is actually less than getting new ones.

Yet, despite their superior numbers, the success of the nationalized organizations in expanding relationships with their customers isn’t quite comparable to their multinational rivals.

Focus offline?

When the outcomes of higher sales and a healthier bottomline don’t naturally follow, perhaps the focus for generating business is offline.

Fact is, for relationships to become significant in the social context, emotional attachments are needed.

In the corporate world similarly, success (or failure) with customers depends on the nature of connections built with them.

The humdrum routine

Nationalized Banks appear to undervalue their massive base of accounts - e.g., of the retirees. So impersonal transactions can hardly do the trick for them.

Because these routine processes are basically humdrum, behaviour and attitudes of the organizational employees may, in fact, become noticeably negative towards the ageing public.

Many of those in direct contact with these regulars, thus rarely distinguish themselves in customer experience.

Diminishing the brand

Rather than nurture the interface, they appear to deliberately delay transactional processes or give customers the bureaucratic runaround should they approach with a problem or loan request.

The customers complain that the frontline people just couldn’t care less about what happens to them or to their money. Staff tend look upon the tasks they perform as unpleasant chores forced upon them or as charity to the public.

The mutual vibes of resentment have consequences – clearly diminishing brand relationships.

Investing out

Revenue opportunities for the institutions may evaporate because many in the banking industry operate by entrenched mindsets.

Customers feeling neglected or patronized, appreciate none of the service they receive. The accounts are kept open only to receive governmental remittances – that is, for the routine transactions only.

And at opportune moments, they move assets, investments and confidence votes out to other places, generally to the multinational corporations.

As a result, the nationalized industry fails to secure large investments from their own mandatory customer base.

Cont’d 2…the emotional wellbeing