Problem Analysis, Recommendations, and Conclusion

Problem Analysis

Valley National Bank’s mission statement states that Valley's mission is to provide superior banking services in a prompt, accurate and courteous manner. This statement can be found at www.valleynationalbank.com along with their general statement and code co conduct guidelines. They have grown a tremendous amount since the beginning of their first branch back in 1927 and will continue to grow through their acquisitions.

During the last few years technology has been constantly and rapidly changing. This is something that has tremendously affected everyone, whether personal or business. Banks have not been left behind in this field either. Technology has advanced so much for the banking industry that you no longer need to visit a branch if you want to make a deposit of take out cash. Valley faces a great challenge in the technological world when it comes to their competition.

VNB currently has over 200 hundred branches all across New Jersey and in parts of New York. With its many branches they come to have a strong customer base. Acquiring new customers is something that is a constant pursue for VNB or any other bank. One of the major things that attract people to banking is what they can get for free or what “cool” new things that bank is using.  People stay with banks for longer periods of time because of the switching costs. One way that VNB tries to grab new customers is by making their transition as easy as possible.

Once a customer has established an account with VNB they can register to use online banking. Online banking gives the customers banking at their finger tips 24 hours a day seven days a week. Valley uses a very simple system to register their customers to their online banking. Customers log into www.vallenationalbank.com and click to enroll. They will then be prompted to a screen to fill out their personal information

The questions that are asked in these steps are very simple questions to the customer. The process should only take them about 5 minutes. Once the customer has completed the above screens they will be given a notice that tells them that a confirmation email will be sent to them to verify that they are the actual account owners. The page is marked by the FDIC stamp to help the customer feel safe and also be aware of the fact that Valley is FDIC insured.

Once the customer has completed the application and they receive their confirmation notice they can then begin to use their online banking. The screen below shows a sample of what the customer can view when they are on the online banking main screen. They can make transfers and check balances of their various accounts without any hassles.

 Valley also offers bill payment to their customers to lessen the amounts of checks that they have to write on a monthly basis. This system allows the customer to reminders or automatic payments every month without the customer having to even sign in to make the payment. VNB bill payment is also a free feature that valley offers with their free online banking.

Recommendations

One of the things that is holding VNB from competing with other banks, aside from their size, is their lack of technology. Other banks, such as Chase and BOfA, have much more advanced technologies that they provide to their customers. We live in a world where technology is the first things inspected by its potential consumers. Banking does not fall behind on this. Costumers want to find the easiest way to their banking without even having to come into a branch. While this approach might not be the best way for a bank to succeed, it is something that Valley needs to look into.

VBN should consider looking to update the way their customers do their banking. While they use a very simple online banking system, they should begin to but into practice the new advances that technology has been able to offer. Banks such as Chase make it easy for the customer to make a deposit without even having to leave the comfort of their homes.

The screen above is taken from www.chase.com online banking and mobile banking options. Here the customers have more options as to what they need to do or how they need to do it. Valley needs to work on finding a way to give these same conveniences to their customers so that they don’t lose out on the technology aspect of the market.

Valley National Bank’s focus is to provide their customers with great customer service and products that everyone can afford on any budget. By VNB updating their systems to something that is more competitive to what is being offered now, they can then begin to retain more of their customers and also acquire new ones.