Customer Advocacy 2013: How US Consumers Rate Their Financial Services Firms

For 10 years Forrester has shown that customer advocacy — the perception on the part of customers that their firm does what's best for them, not just the firm's own bottom line — is the key driver of loyalty at retail financial services firms. Loyalty, in turn, yields the most sustainable revenue growth for these firms. Organizations like USAA and Vanguard have understood the secret for years; smart firms like Charles Schwab have embraced the principles of customer advocacy more recently and have prospered as a result. But what has been a smart strategy is now becoming an imperative as digital technologies erode old competitive barriers like sprawling branch networks or massive IT infrastructure. The only source of competitive advantage left, Forrester believes, is one that can survive technology-fueled disruption: an obsession with serving and delighting customers. In this age of the customer, we believe that firms rated high in customer advocacy will enjoy disproportionate growth and competitors will scramble to mimic the strategies of leading firms like Amica, credit unions, Edward Jones, Vanguard, and USAA.