HOW ESSENTIAL IS TECHNOLOGY FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION?

Customer satisfaction is very important because the cstomer is the main factor for whom the
business is run and due to his satisfaction the business is flourishing.one customer is enough or we
can say one individual customer has power to tell 50 people that is why the customer satisfaction is
very important in any business.In banks, Bank Customers need the services so quickly and accurate..
Increasing competition (whether for-profit or nonprofit) is forcing businesses to pay much more
attention to satisfying customers. . It's a well known fact that no business can exist without
customers.

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a
company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within
business and is part of the four of a Balanced scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where
businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and
increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. Customer satisfaction is an abstract
concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and
product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both
psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and
recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other factors the customer,
such as other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products.

Banking operations are becoming increasingly customer dictated. The demand for
'banking supermalls' offering one-stop integrated financial services is well on the rise.
The ability of banks to offer clients access to several markets for different classes of
financial instruments has become a valuable competitive edge. Convergence in the
industry to cater to the changing demographic expectations is now more than evident.
Bancassurance and other forms of cross selling and strategic alliances will soon alter the
business dynamics of banks and fuel the process of consolidation for increased scope of
business and revenue. The thrust on farm sector, health sector and services offers
several investment linkages. In short, the domestic economy is an increasing pie which
offers extensive economies of scale that only large banks will be in a position to
tap.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. Thus it is
imperative for banks to 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.

The working of the customer's mind is a mystery which is difficult to solve and
understanding the nuances of what customer satisfaction is, a challenging task.
Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Banking Sector: A Study :

In today’s competitive environment relationship marketing is critical to banking corporate success.

Banking is a customer oriented services industry and Indian banks have started realising that
business depends on client service and the satisfaction of the customer. This is compelling them to
improve customer service and build relationships with customers.

This study, conducted among five Indian banks, aimed at identifying customer satisfaction variables
which lead to relationship building, and developing a conceptual framework of relationship marketing
practices in Indian banks by capturing the perspectives of customers with respect to their satisfaction
with various services. It also sought to identify whether demographics have a role to play in customer
satisfaction. A questionnaire designed from a literature review and in-depth interviews were utilised to
arrive at the 16 variables which determined the satisfaction of 555 customers of the five banks..

The three relationship dimensions, namely, traditional services, multi channel banking and internal
marketing, which lead to customer satisfaction, were identified through factor analysis. A repeated
measure of ANOVA was run on the relationship dimensions to assess significant difference in the
level of satisfaction of the customer. A perceptual map was created using the factor scores of each of
the five banks which helped identify how each bank was positioned in the customers’ minds.

Reporting on the different satisfaction levels of the customers, the findings suggest that while private
banks have been able to attract the younger customers with higher educational levels, who are
comfortable with multi channel banking, the customers of the national bank are older and more
satisfied with the traditional facilities. The results from this study could provide managerial lessons on
assessment of strengths and improvement of services and in evolving a research strategy that will
benefit the management of banks.

For satisfying the customer banker can adopt new-new technologies.for example; now-a-days many new

technologies are coming like ATM, Telebanking, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking and so on.With the help of

hese technologies, customer easily get their needs or we can say what they expect from the customer they get

that is why the new technologies are essential for satisfying customer.
How New Banking technologies helps to the customer?

The banks are giving 24 hours of service to the customers.The bank will save lots
of time and manpower.Thus the banks will get financial benefits with reduced power.
There are few examples of the new technologies which is given by the banks to the
customers.

1.ATM

An automated teller machine (ATM) or automatic banking machine (ABM) is a

computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution
with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human
clerk or bank teller. On most modern ATMs, the customer is identified by inserting a plastic
ATM card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smart card with a chip, that contains a unique
card number and some security information such as an expiration date or CVVC (CVV).
Authentication is provided by the customer entering a personal identification number (PIN).

Using an ATM, customers can access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals,
credit card cash advances, and check their account balances as well as purchase prepaid
cellphone credit. If the currency being withdrawn from the ATM is different from that which
the bank account is denominated in (e.g.: Withdrawing Japanese Yen from a bank account
containing US Dollars), the money will be converted at a wholesale exchange rate. Thus,
ATMs often provide the best possible exchange rate for foreign travelers and are heavily used
for this purpose as well.

2.Intenet Banking

Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial

transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank, credit union or
building society. Internet banking is used widely by masses, and has numerous
benefits to offer. Nowadays, all banks provide online banking facility to their
customers as an added advantage. Gone are the days, when one had to transact
with a bank which was only in his local limits. Online banking has opened the doors
for all customers, to operate beyond boundaries. Nowadays, people are so busy in
their work lives, that they don't even have time to go to the bank for conducting their
banking transactions.Internet banking enable people to carry out most of their
banking transactions using a safe website, which is operated by their respective
banks. It provides many features and functions to their customers, and enables them
to view their account balance, transfer money from their account to another account
(be it in their respective bank or any other bank), view their account summary, etc.

In this procedure, many financial transactions can be carried out by simply utilizing a
computer with an Internet connection. The necessary things that a person needs for
using online banking are, an active bank account with balance in it for transactions,
debit or a credit card number, customer's user ID, bank account number, the Internet
banking PIN number, and a PC with access to the web. People using Internet
banking are certainly benefited by the online services their respective banks are
providing them with. The primary reason why it is so famous and mostly used is that,
customers are allowed to bank at non-working hours.

3.Mobile Banking

Mobile banking (also known as M-Banking, mbanking, SMS Banking etc.) is a term used for
performing balance checks, account transactions, payments etc. via a mobile device such as
a mobile phone. Mobile banking today (2007) is most often performed via SMS or the
Mobile Internet but can also use special programs, called clients, downloaded to the mobile
device. "Mobile Banking refers to provision and availment of banking- and financial services
with the help of mobile telecommunication devices.The scope of offered services may
include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and
to access customised information."

Indian Banking can maiximise its efficiency through Innovation

Indian Banking system should continuously peruse technological innovation to

improve their performance in the cut-throat competition scenario. Indian banking
system should adopt TQM ( Total Quality Management) through continuous
enhancement of their quality of service. With advanced technology , automation of
the banking sector through intranet ,internet ,telephone banking ,ATM , service
online ,voice mail , computer supported co-operative work systems , distributed
operating systems , groupware , and other electronic communications. European
Commission has introduced a Payment Services Directive which was adopted in
2007 which paved the way for further entrepreneurship and innovation in the
European payment market by introduction of a new authorization regime for so-
called ‘payment institutions” that are neither building societies ,banks , nor e-
money issuers.

This new technology will enhance the efficiency, competition and innovation in
European payment market by elimination barriers to entry and thereby ensuring
fair market access. Investing on innovation will definitely bring many benefits to
banking sector. The UK is the largest single international banking sector
accounting for one-fifth of the globe’s cross-border lending. About 5% of UK’s
GDP comprises of the income from the financial services. The banking sector of
UK is the large spender on IT systems and services and in 2004 , UK spent about £
6.6 billion. Indian banking industry should embark on consolidation by merging
various banks so that performance and profitability can be increased. Further , it
should outsource its back-office transactions so that profitability can be maximized
and that can be invested on the innovation process.

Indian Banking can maiximise its efficiency through Innovatio