Bankers, Customers Operate in Separate Universes: Survey

Executives of financial service companies are not getting the message that their customers are confused and alienated, according to a new survey by Cohn & Wolfe, a marketing consulting firm.

"Communication is key as are transparency and accountability but we're not seeing it at the top," Matt Wolfrom, head of Cohn & Wolfe's North American practice, told me.

What's more, senior management at banks are not engaging their employees who have a wealth of market intelligence at their fingertips and deal with consumers every day, Wolfrom says. Such are the results of a survey the firm conducted in January that queried 1,000 consumers and 200 financial executives.

Another fact underlines the disconnect between financial industry managers and the rest of the world. Some 64.2 percent of the consumers surveyed have a pessimistic outlook on their financial outlook this year. Yet only 20 percent of financial service executives said they are adjusting their business strategies to meet this year's demands.

This seems especially odd because consumers generally trust their retail bankers whom they know and see on a regular, face-to-face basis, Wolfrom told me. "This represents a lost opportunity for bankers," he says.

Another point is that the financial service industry "had better get ready for lots more regulation," Wolfrom says. The lack of information shared by bankers will generate more oversight. "The more you communicate, the less you are likely to get regulation," he told me.

My takeaway: It is amazing how these simple, common sense points seem lost in the finance world.