The article explores:
Applying the TripAdvisor model to banking: How SuperBankRatings ‘ enables clear, like-for-like comparisons of banks and products from a customer and market perspective, demystifying complex banking choices.
Data-driven, customer-centric ratings: How large volumes of banking data are filtered into simple, meaningful star ratings that reflect real customer experience, performance, and service quality, not just price.
Transparency and trust as competitive advantages: How independent, consistent, and transparent ratings build credibility, improve market confidence, and help banks understand where they truly stand versus competitors.
J ust think how hard it was to book vacations before TripAdvisor. So many hotels. So many bad ones. So much to comprehend. This frustration led Stephen Kaufer to start TripAdvisor. Today TripAdvisor is the leading rating service for vacations, trusted by travellers and businesses alike. It has 8 million venues reviewed from over 8 billion site-visits. It allows informed decisions. It is data driven. TripAdvisor focuses on the Customer and is transparent. Banking may seem unrelated to vacations but the same challenges for travel applies to banks. There is no clear basis for comparisons of products and services. This is what SuperBankRatings’ will solve. Rating banks from a customer and market perspective to enable like for like comparisons. To reveal what 5 stars looks like.
The importance of informed decisions
No-one travels without researching hotels. Things like cost, location, quality are always important, as are the dining options, the pool and entertainment choices. TripAdvisor’s ratings allow travellers to compare like for like hotels, across several aspects. Vacations can be booked with confidence.
Banking decisions deserve the same research. But there is no BankAdvisor. Unlike hotels, banks are complicated. Their products and services are confusing. However, there are similarities. Branch locations and customer service remain important. Quality and specialty are critical. A bank which specialises in business banking is not always best for someone needing consumer banking.
SuperBankRatings’ allows customers to make informed decisions by seeing how different banks compare on the same factor. Where they differ while keeping other factors the same. There is more to a mortgage than the interest rate, as there is more to a hotel than price. SuperBankRatings’ enables the market to be better informed when choosing between competing offers.
Data driven, Insight focused
TripAdvisor integrates data from open, private, interactive and closed sources. Customers leave reviews and businesses can reply. Beyond the user and hotel there are subscribers, partners, advertisers and travel agents. TripAdvisor delivers the most comprehensive data platform for the travel industry.
Banking generates mountains of data. Everything is measured and counted. All sorts of organisations track the data and results. The challenge becomes filtering out the noise. Facts like biggest bank, by assets, customers, loans, market share, growth are only useful with context. What does it mean when a bank is said to be over-exposed, or facing a customer concentration risk?
SuperBankRatings’ simplifies this deluge of data. The analysis converts something which sounds impenetrable into something useful. A simple scale to show how several factors come together to deliver a service or product to the market which is either fantastic or not. The analysis shows what options exist, and sometimes challenges assumptions the market has about what “good” means.
One surprise about being data driven is that 5 stars from TripAdvisor has the same value across different types of hotels. SuperBankRatings’ does the same thing. Once a rating is established it applies across all respective class.
The Customer is King
TripAdvisor places the customer at the centre of its rating by giving them a voice. The customer’s experience drives the ratings as much as formal reviews. The customer can talk to the hotel, avoiding the marketing and PR departments. Hotels can hear what customers really experience. Low ratings have value because it shows where improvement is needed, or what the problem really is.
The same applies for Banks. SuperBankRatings’ can show whether a new Customer Service program is having impact. The ratings will measure how complaints handling and volume is changing, or if market share is increasing through new customer acquisition drives. A profitable bank has happy customers. Happy customers have a voice and have access to the banking they need. Having an independent rating gives you the credibility to speak directly to the market. It is the trusted voice in a crowded room, people are more likely to listen.
T ripAdvisor is number 1 because its ratings mean something. A rating only changes when effort is made to improve, or a business gives up. The inputs are known even if the methodology is secret. As a result, a 4 star rating in one place equals 4 stars somewhere else. The ratings can be trusted.
SuperBankRatings’ is open about what factors are considered important. Open about how performance against those factors can be changed but the methodology remains the same. Transparency comes from being open about findings which correspond to what the market and customers see themselves. SuperBankRatings’ currency is their Research & Ratings, Credibility and Independence are their biggest assets. This reputation is built on Transparency and Fairness with all market partners.
Soon Cambodia’s banking market will say “remember what it was like before SuperBankRatings’?”. Those old days will be like booking a vacation before TripAdvisor. Confusing, complicated, frustrating. With SuperBankRatings’, the market will have confidence they’re making informed decisions. Ratings will be data driven to show how things change relative to important inputs and variables. Banks will be able to hear from their customers because the customers will better understand the banks. Most important is SuperBankRatings’ will bring transparency by comparing the competitive offers available in market. Show banks how they can improve or how well they are doing versus the competition. When SuperBankRatings’ says something is 5 Star just like TripAdvisor, it will mean excellence!
Article by Ishmael Jappie-Giles
For more information, please contact QnA@SuperBankRatings.com
