A company's reputation is a valuable asset that is used to market their product and help distinguish themselves from their competitors. This is very much like a personal reputation, where we try and present ourselves in a manner that is marketable and different from the person next to us.
When it comes to banking, there are many different companies to choose from and as a consumer, I rely on reputation to save me time from researching companies as well as making it more likely that I will be happy with the service.
Chase has a reputation in the market for being convenient as well as safe. On ads they boast of having friendly customer service and easy to use online banking. They separate themselves from others in the market by advertising themselves as a company that is secure and has anti fraud teams always working to make sure your money is safe.They brand themselves by making the Chase logo recognizable at many sporting events and applications. The brand is associated with safe, reliable, and easy banking.
Before coming to college, I did my banking at a smaller bank back in my hometown. This was convenient for me when back at home and I really did not consider any other bank because it was where my parents had set up my account and have done their banking their. However, when coming to college, I knew that I would have to switch banks because I would need access to my money. In champaign, there are many banks to choose from and I really did not want to walk into each one and research which one was best. Instead, I asked my friends where they would recommend and I ended up choosing Chase.
There are a few reasons why I chose Chase. I knew about Chase bank because they are everywhere. They have a reputation for having many ATMs and being convenient. They have many ATMs not only in Champaign, but also near my house, so when I came home, I knew that I would not have to worry about changing banks again. The next reason why I chose Chase bank was because my friends told me that the online banking was very simple and easy to use. I personally liked hearing this because I did not really want to have a tough time learning something and setting it up. Another reason why I chose to bank at Chase was because a few of my friends who have lost or had their debit cards stolen all told me that Chase had a very good anti fraud team and were very understanding. One instance I remember was a friend of mine had his debit card stolen and Chase called him before he had noticed it was gone to let him know that various large charges were being made. They cancelled the card and send him a new one within a week with no penalty. My friends all concluded they were happy with the service and quality of Chase's customer service and felt that their money was safe. As a customer of Chase for the last 4 years, I can say I am happy with their service and they have lived up to their reputation.
Given your story, I'm curious about how much of your transactions are done with cash versus how much with a debit or credit card. We use the local bank here, Busey, and when they originally got their credit cards we cosigned for them. I'm under the impression that compared with 10 years ago banks are now more stingy handing out credit cards, but a debit card should be now problem. Is that right?
ReplyDeleteIt may be premature for this, but once you graduate you will probably rent for a while and then you might want to buy a place. If you can stay with the same bank throughout, perhaps there are some reputation effects at play that make it a bit easier.
On the other hand, if you don't now have a credit card through your bank, when you get one, how you manage that will matter for your own reputation.
I find it extremely interesting that you chose to write about the positive reputation of Chase, when I have an entirely different take on their reputation based on their past actions. I am highly skeptical of whatever advertisements they put out and anything positive they say about themselves. Chase was one of the banks that offered sub prime loans which was a huge factor in tanking our economy back in 2008. I don't trust them to serve my best interests as a consumer, and have seen them time and time again pursue actions where they are the ultimate victors. In my ind, that is the picture of a negative reputation. On top of that they are also monopolistic and an example of the financial equivalent to Walmart, having bought out a substantial number of smaller banks (this is discussed in the end of this article, http://www.policymic.com/articles/71255/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-this-chart-shows-how). I think our very different opinions just prove the range of perceptions of reputations and also show the various components which go into developing a reputation as an organization.
ReplyDelete