Keep your customers in a vault

Banks spend an impressive amount of money on television advertising in an attempt to lure people away from their competitors. But is that the best way for them to spend it? Shouldn't they spend more money on holding onto their current customers. The majority of my bank accounts and various investments accounts are with a specific bank, why aren't they working harder to maintain my relationship with them? Instead I see other banks offering me pretty good incentives to move to them. All I receive from my bank are statements and untargetted offers to use their rewards shop.

The other banks are offering me the simplest things to win me over, such as no fees for pulling cash out of ATMs that aren't theirs. I do that a couple of times a month probably amounting to costs of $3-5. My bank could offer me the same thing and keep a heavily invested client happy.

For a cost of $3-5 a month, that sounds like a no-brainer. How can a business full of financial minds say no to retaining a client for $60 a year? They will easily make that back off fees within the first month.

For an industry that is entrusted with peoples life savings you'd think they would have a higher emphasis on client retention, but they seem to be more interested in client acquisition. Its the standard marketing rule - generating a new customer is "x" times more expensive that retaining one you've already sold.

What are your competitors offering your clients that you could easily offer them yourselves to ensure they stay with you? That's what you should be asking yourself.