As we continue through the dog days of summer, there is more than just the weather heating up. New research shows a widening gap between the perception of an institution’s delivery on Customer Experience (CX) and how customers rate their institution on delivering CX. You can read the full article from the Financial Brand here. The Global Report 2025 research conducted by CX20 and the Consumer Bankers Association was included in a recent website post. To summarize the report, senior leadership rates their satisfaction of CX at 80% and customers rate their institutions’ CX delivery at 24%. That is a staggering 56% gap in perception on CX! Let’s unpack this report more and dig into the details. First, it’s possible that the 80% CX number could represent wildly unrealistic thinking by senior management. If you are not particularly paying attention to CX and believe that traditional great personal service in branch represents great CX, then you might rate your institution high. However, CX is different. We cannot conflate “service” with “experience.” Even if you can empirically nail down service as a concrete set of deliverable elements, an experience is more about emotion. The customer experience is an amalgam of all of the different touchpoints, communications and service offerings an institution offers intertwined with the delivery methods, technologically advanced delivery solutions and the level of entertainment that is derived from how a consumer interacts with their institution. Don’t discount that last element. You may not be thinking about how your institution could be more “fun,” but at the end of the day, we definitely get more satisfaction from services and organizations that are not a chore or dreary to experience. The report highlights these important takeaways: The perception gap is massive. As already mentioned, the gap of 56% between organization and customer perception represents a misalignment that cannot be explained away. It begs for specific and targeted action to bring the CX gap to a single digit difference. Loyalty is fragile. I have written about loyalty in the past, but I truly believe that many of the customers we call “loyal” are in fact “repeat” customers. The fact that they haven’t closed their accounts and moved across town is not an indication of their satisfaction of the CX the institution is providing. Digital transformation is failing. The report highlights that senior leaders don’t feel their technology investments are generating better CX scores, revealing misdirected digital strategies are occurring. Better CX drives revenue. Customers are voting with their wallets and their feet based on CX. The report documents that 67% of customers spend more with companies that have high CX scores and 50% would switch based on more positive CX. The report goes on to highlight the top 5 CX gaps. They are the perception gap, the communication gap, the service gap, the personalization gap and the feedback gap. The CX Perception Gap – This one is a no brainer; a 56% gap is clearly unacceptable and unsustainable. The report points to issues such as lack of training and unclear CX metrics as key reasons for the gap. My take is that until financial institutions can break away from a focus on in-person service and realize that CX is a penumbra of all of the experiences a customer receives, couple that with the changing dynamics of younger generations having a different expectation of what good CX is, then the gap will only continue. Financial institutions must recognize this change in CX to close the perception gap. The CX Communications Gap – Communications, regardless of the delivery method, need to be clear, consistent and contextually relevant. The most frustrating type of communication is one that is disjointed between different FI touchpoints. This is especially relevant when you consider how certain processes or services are not aligned between digital delivery and in-branch personnel. The CX Service Gap – While I continually remind bankers that most customers prefer good self-service over great in-person experience, it does not mean that in-person service is unwanted. The real disconnect occurs when there is a mismatch between service from digital channels and those delivered in-person. Eliminating silos and cross training is needed to ensure that service is delivered consistently across all delivery methods. The CX Personalization Gap – Customers desire personalized services and recommendations tailored to their specific financial service needs, not cookie cutter solutions. Some FIs provide limited customization of the digital experience, but the majority do not. For example, something as critical as a new deposit account opening has little to no personalization at most institutions. Training is needed for in-branch personnel on how to ask questions, so they can make a recommendation of a deposit account that best suits their situation. Furthermore, the online account opening tools provided need to be at the very same level of account recommendation personalization. The CX Feedback Gap – It is perhaps surprising that many FIs do not have good feedback mechanisms in place. Feedback can be anecdotal such as a personal banker relaying a customer comment or can be more formal such as a customer survey. Yet, a customer may be commenting on social media, and nothing is being done to monitor social media sites for references to the organization. Financial institutions should be looking for multiple ways to gather input both proactive and passive. In an era where most transactions are performed digitally, there is a place for electronic communications (ie: live or AI powered chat) AND in person listening (such as a focus group that periodically meets with senior FI leadership). The report goes on to highlight several specific strategies that would focus the institution on bridging that CX gap. I want to highlight the two I feel are the most impactful: CX is a perspective, not a set of service deliverables – CX is not “a thing.” It is an overall perception by customers that is created by the total of all communications, solutions, service delivery options, personal interactions, how the physical locations look and behave and much more. Just like a bank’s logo is not the brand, the service provided does not equate to an experience. You can’t be all things to all people, but it is possible to generate an environment where customers of all types and demographics “feel” that the institution understands their needs and caters to those in a manner that “thrills and delights.” Changing your strategic focus to identify key customer needs and then provide reasonable levels of personalization around those needs is a great first step in lowering the CX perception gap. Build solutions that solve real problems – This element is weighty enough to warrant its own article but at the risk of oversimplification, strive to determine real world issues a customer may have and then provide a compelling solution to that issue. For a business customer, it may be as simple as integration of monthly account data to their ERP system. For a retail customer, it might mean offering insight on monthly cash flow such as providing wisdom on proposed transactions as a warning to avoid overdraft charges. In general, the ability to consistently provide wisdom, not just information, would in of itself be a great first step in the process of creating raving fans or loyal customers that increase their share of wallet leading to higher revenue and profitability. The report concludes with, “Customer experience isn’t a checklist — it’s the foundation of how companies earn trust, build loyalty, and drive growth. Yet too many companies operate in a false sense of success, believing they’re delivering great CX while customers feel the opposite.” It is possible to close the CX gap, but it is not a slow incremental increase of in-person service. It is an organizational-wide, systemic change in fundamental thinking about truly understanding the customer and delivering a compelling experience. The time to get started on this is right around the corner, especially since many institutions are already planning their fall strategic planning retreats. In the report, Forrester notes, “For bold CX leaders ready to kick things into high gear, this might just be your year. The effort to pull away from the pack will demand commitment, but the strategic advantage in a landscape where others are holding back will be significant.” Make 2026 the year you focus on driving down the CX gap for your institution. The views expressed in this blog are for informational purposes. All information shared should be independently evaluated as to its applicability or efficacy. FNBB does not endorse, recommend or promote any specific service or company that may be named or implied in any blog post.