West African banks, telcos and insurers ranked by consumer sentiment
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2020
Findings are part of DataEQ’s Cross-Industry Africa Sentiment Index
In West Africa, Standard Chartered Ghana, Vodafone Ghana and Old Mutual Nigeria, were the best performing bank, telco and insurer in DataEQ’s African Cross-Industry Sentiment Report.
The report, used the firm’s proprietary blend of AI and human crowds to analyse 688 154 social media posts between May and July 2020 in the banking, insurance and telco industries. The West African countries included in the report were Ghana and Nigeria.
A key finding of the report was that less than half of all customers who reached out to their bank, insurer, and telco on social media received a response from their service provider.
Ecobank Nigeria had the most complaints in the banking industry
Ecobank Nigeria had the most negative sentiment performance as a result of customer complaints. A key theme in complaints were reports of money missing from accounts either as a result of failed transactions (at ATMs for example) or delayed electronic transfers.
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana received the most positive sentiment. This was driven by brand ambassadors promoting the bank’s mobile banking app. These authors encouraged their followers to download the app so that clients would be able to bank safely from home amidst concerns around COVID-19.
Airtel Nigeria experienced the most negative sentiment in the telco industry
Airtel Nigeria experienced the most negative sentiment. As in other regions, common complaints among consumers included missing data and connectivity issues.
Although MTN Nigeria performed best for overall Net Sentiment in the region, Vodafone Ghana had the most positive consumer feedback. Their consumers reported switching to the network and having a better experience than with MTN Ghana. There was also some conversation about the provider’s donation to the Ark Foundation which drove a positive consumer response.
Old Mutual Nigeria leads the insurance industry on positive sentiment
Mutual Benefits Nigeria had the largest proportion of negative sentiment in the region. The source of this negativity came mainly from customers who reported that, on terminating their savings plan, they had lost money. These customers felt their investment policy was unfair.
Old Mutual Nigeria received the most positive sentiment. This came from brand ambassadors sharing positive content about the brand. This included content around home and life insurance primarily.
DataEQ CEO, Nic Ray explained that the firm wanted to gain a deeper understanding of how consumers interact online with key brands and industries “Covid-19 has driven digital adoption across the world and especially in Africa. We wanted to understand what consumers were feeling and how industries were handling the increased demand for social customer service.”
“As African governments and businesses encourage the use of digital platforms, and mobile internet penetration increases, more consumers are going to seek customer service on social media. How organisations identify, interpret, and respond to this growing source of consumer feedback will be critical to building sustained brand loyalty, reducing risk, and growing market share.” Ray added.
