The influence of Brand and of Banking Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction

During the time of traditional structure and traditional functioning of the banking sector, customers used to have very little choice of financial services and distrubution channels through which banking instruments were forwarded. This rigid structure of banks and weak competition forced customers to accept those banking services that were at their disposal, and also to accept highly priced financial instruments and distrubution channels forced upon them. Customers had no choice but to buy products and services according to a certain patern, without any opportunity to change them and to adjust them to their own needs. Trends in economy in the last two decades, changes that started in the 1990s and reached their peak in a global recession, all that had made a strong impact on the financial market. Stronger competition has made the banks embrace an uncompromising standpoint towards brand and service quality, as perceived by customers. The problem of customers’ loyalty and their satisfaction, perceived as the main issue in survival of banks, has become one of the key subjects in scientific research. Due to the very sensitive nature of banking services that are under the influence of this very specific form of doing business, the question: which variables and criteria to choose when measuring customer satisfaction, becomes more and more complex. This paper aims to analyse the necessity of implementing brand and of creating service strategy, according to criteria necesary for customer satisfaction and commitment. Those two are the unavoidable conditions for any organization to reach its financial goals and to, after all, survive in the long run.