By Pardue, Tyrone
FDIC regulations makes differentiating your bank difficult. You and your competitors are targeting the same customers, with the same products and services. Even the brand promise is the same: personal service, local decision making, a manager or teller that knows your name. But with everyone taking the same brand strategy, how do you truly differentiate?
To reach their customers, banks must create a unique, consistently branded experience targeted at the customer at point of interaction. From their first visit to your web site, to the personal banking brochure they pick up in your local branch. Here are some tips to remember when planning to build your brand and differentiate your bank:
Know Your Customer – To build meaningful relationships you must know who your customers are first. This knowledge is based on a real time analysis of each customer profile. Knowing what services they use and don’t use, provides you with the data you need to focus your brand.
Sell the Experience – Don’t just sell products and services. Be prepared to “wow” your customers by making every online transaction a breeze and every trip to their local branch a welcome experience. Don’t be satisfied with a web site that merely lists a set of bulleted services. Instead, provide compelling content that makes a true brand proposition to the reader. The same applies to branch design. Consider how your brand can be reflected in the décor, lighting and even furnishings of your branches.
Make a Difference – The ‘me’ society is changing into the ‘us’ society. Technology has connected people in new and more intimate ways. Issues like global warming, world conflict and racial prejudice are hot topics in our society and consumers expect that the brands they buy are aware of these issues and friendly to both their community and the environment.
Pulse, Pace & Passion – The world today moves at incredible speed. Devices such as Blackberries, iPhones and the Web keep life moving at a high metabolic rate. A hard-to-navigate web site, slow teller line or staff that lacks passion or personal skills are negatives that will inhibit your bank from being successful.
Brand Ambassadors – About 80% of interactions with your customer are strictly transactional. Enhance your sales and marketing interactions by building your bank’s brand from the inside out. Coach staff on ways to leverage everyday service transactions into sales dialogues, promoting both brand awareness and sales efforts with each customer interaction.
How do successful banks build their brands? What can your financial institution do to differentiate in this competitive environment? This blog examines these issues and others.
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