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focusfinancialservicesmarketing

Advocacy is key to rebuilding
banks’ brand reputations
To succeed in the post credit-crunch world, financial organisations need to have
customers actively recommending them, argues Brandon Murphy, 22squared


T
       HINK BACK BEFORE the sub-               FIGURE 1                                                               Even before the financial solvency and
       prime mortgage crisis that sent          Sizing up brand advocacy                                           practices of retail banks came into ques-
       retail banking into a tailspin. Hind-                                                                       tion, many of their customer relation-
sight is 20/20, right? But, looking back at             Percentage of brand’s customers                            ships were on the rocks, despite imple-
the lending practices of many banks and                 who are...                                                 menting many innovations that made
                                               Sha




other financial institutions, could we                       Rec
                                                                                                                   banking more convenient for customers,




                                                                             Diss
                                                  reh




have stopped this crisis? Maybe. But what                                                                          including online and mobile banking.
                                                               Eva




                                                                               Mar
                                                                om
                                                     olde




                                                                                 atis
really caused it? Bad business decisions?                                                                             Across the categories we measured, the
                                                                  nge

                                                                   men




                                                                                   gina




                                                                                   Acti
                                                                                     fied
                                                         r




Lax lending guidelines? Greed?                                                                                     average ‘true advocacy’ (advocates minus
                                                                     list




                                                                                       Sati




                                                                                        vely
                                                                                        Rep



                                                                                        l co
                                                                       der




                                                                                           cus
   Probably all of the above and more. But                                                  sfie                   critics) was 21%. Retail banks averaged
                                                                                             nsu
                                                                                             eat




                                                                                              aga
                                                                                               tom
                                                                                                d
even as these unforgivable practices were                                                                          9%, even with the inclusion of a standout
                                                                                                 mer




                                                                                                  inst
                                                                                                    er
putting our global financial system at risk,                                                                       such as ING Direct – a brand that ranked
                                                     ADVOCATES                  BUYERS             CRITICS
many banks ignored a measure that could                                                                            in the top 10% of all the brands studied
predict how their customers would                                                                                  (Figure 3). A closer look revealed a poten-
respond when the system nearly collapsed                                                                           tial downward trend as most retail banks
and when the honesty and transparency                                           Source for all charts: 22squared
                                                                                                                   scored negative ‘true momentum’, with
of banks would be questioned by nearly                                                                             more customers moving away from the
everyone. That measure is advocacy – the       FIGURE 2
                                                                                                                   brand than moving toward the brand.
percentage of a bank’s customer base that
                                                Retail banks high on critics
actively recommends it to others.                                                                                  Bucking the trend
   In March 2008, right before the US             Ad                                                               One thing was clear: retail banks were
economy started to officially slide into            vo                                             34%             growing, and many were doing it in spite
                                                      ca
                                                        te
recession, we studied the relationships be-                                                          36%           of a deficit in personal recommendations.
tween six popular US retail banks and                                                                              But how? The very thing that was fuelling
                                                      Bu                                                  41%
their respective customers.                             ye
                                                          r
                                                                                                                   much of their growth was also sacrificing
                                                                                                        49%        their advocacy levels.
Category comparisons                                                                                                  For some time, the marketing perspec-
Within the same time-frame, we also con-               Cr
                                                         iti
                                                                                            25%                    tive of retail banking has been ‘the more
                                                            c
ducted similar studies on other cat-                                               15%                             share of wallet we can get, the less likely
egories, including wireless providers, per-                                                                        consumers are to switch’. Banks knew
sonal computers, apparel retailers and air-                            Bank mean           Cross category mean     that the hassle of switching often out-
lines. We examined the relationships                                                                               weighed the benefit of it, especially given
each bank held with a random sampling                                                                              the lack of measurably better alternatives
of its customer base. Through the lens of      FIGURE 3                                                            and an overall lack of customers advocat-
friendship, we explored the roles banks         Advocacy and momentum                                              ing for those alternatives.
played in the lives of their customers.                                                                               So, organic growth (selling more prod-
   We took a pulse on the future direction                   ING Direct 48%              26% ING Direct
                                                                                                                   ucts to existing customers) became the
of each relationship to see which banks                                                                            focus of many banks. Usually, that’s not a
had positive relationship momentum,                                Personal
                                                                                                                   bad strategy for a brand. After all, the
which brands were stagnant and which                         computers 38%                                         more a customer buys is typically an indi-
brands were moving backwards.                                                                                      cation of loyalty and even advocacy.
                                                                                         18% Airlines
   Most importantly, we measured the                            Airlines 25%
                                                                                                                      But for banks, this wasn’t the case.
                                                                                         17% Personal
ratio of advocates, buyers and critics with-                                                 computers
                                                                                                                   In 2006, it was estimated that $20bn,
in each bank’s customer base (Figure 1).                                                 17% Apparel
                                                                                                                   half of the industry’s revenue, was gener-
The study revealed the prominence of                                  Apparel            retailers                 ated from ‘nuisance fees’. You know,
                                                               retailers 17%
weak and antagonistic relationships                                                                                the kind of fees that surprise you: the
                                                                   Wireless              –7% Wireless
between retail banks and their customers.                    providers 13%               providers                 charge for speaking to a teller; the service
   Of all the categories studied, retail                                                 – 9% Retail banks
                                                                                                                   fee for your checking account when it
                                                         Retail banks 9%
banks had the most critics, with an aver-                                                                          dropped below a certain balance;
age of 25% of customers fitting into the                                                                           the untold charges for overdrafts; ATM
critic category (Figure 2). The only other               True advocacy                  True momentum              usage; or shockingly high late fees.
category that came close was wireless               Category averages                   Category averages             It’s no wonder that 42% of bank cus-
                                                                % advocates             % moving toward
providers, with an average 23% of con-                        minus % critics           minus % moving away        tomers said they would switch primary
sumers feeling trapped by contracts.                                                                               banks if they had lower fees or better cus-

30 Admap • October 2009                                                                                                         © World Advertising Research Center 2009
ADM Oct 30-32 FOCUS Murphy LAYOUT 3.qxd            9/15/2009      12:24   Page 31




                                                               Brandon Murphy is director of
                                                                 planning and engagement at
                                                            22squared, a marketing agency in
                                                             the US specialising in developing
                                                              advocates for brands. His recent
                                                           work has centred on understanding
                                                                     how brand advocacy and
                                                            conversation is created in specific
                                                                   product/service categories.
                                                            brandon.murphy@22squared.com


        tomer service. Even so, 92% of people          FIGURE 4
        didn’t switch banks in 2008.                    Back to basics of relationships
           While banks were working hard to get
        more of their customers’ business, they          Out of the dozen brand behaviours that drive brand advocacy, three very basic actions
        were ensuring that many of those cus-            were found to drive advocacy the most in retail banking. While these actions seem
        tomers would ward off potential new              intuitive and part of good business, many retail banks have not delivered.
        ones. The tension between organic
                                                          1) Be supportive: This means acting
        growth, nuisance fees and switching has-          on your customers’ behalf and being
                                                                                                          65% of customers did not feel their
        sles led many customers to feel trapped.                                                          bank supported them.
                                                          there when they need you.
        In fact, of the six retail banks we studied,
        41% of customers felt they were trapped           2) Be Transparent: Demonstrate
        in an involuntary relationship.                                                                    57% of customers did not feel their
                                                          clear and honest intentions while
                                                                                                           bank was transparent.
           Along with nuisance fees, other factors        not hiding anything.
        were negatively affecting the customer
        relationship.                                     3) Be empathetic: Show you
                                                                                                           74% of customers did not feel their
        ● Customers have scars. Even though               understand them and their financial
                                                                                                           bank understood them.
        they may not have been switching prim-            goals, issues and concerns.
        ary banks, many customers were divers-
        ifying across banks because they are           FIGURE 5
        reluctant to commit more due to negative
                                                        ING Direct versus Citibank
        past experiences.
        ● Privacy was compromised. There were
                                                         ING DIRECT                                      CITIBANK
        many instances of banks compromising
                                                         True advocacy: 48%                              True advocacy: –10%
        the identities of their customers, leaving
        them at risk of fraud.                           Sampling of current actions:
        ● Is ‘big’ bad or good? While big banks          Simplify everything, ie two-page home loan      Raising interest rates on CC average of 3%
        typically offer more convenience when it         agreement (Business Week).                      (USA Today).

        comes to branch locations and ATMs, our          Forego their annual Christmas parties
                                                                                                         Some bailout money going to exec bonuses
        study found that the more branches a             to help 55 customers pay off their
                                                                                                         (USA Today).
                                                         mortgages (AP).
        bank has, the lower its advocacy.
                                                         Embracing social media by providing
        ● Innovation ambivalence. Large banks            transparency and support via Twitter and        Sponsoring sports teams and paying for
        such as Citibank, the innovator in online        YouTube.                                        name rights (ABC News).
        and ATM banking for years, have launch-          ‘Declaration of Financial Independence’         Security hole enables hackers to obtain
        ed many innovative products without in-          shows bank stability while helping              customers’ PIN numbers at 7-Eleven
        creasing advocacy. This suggests that, if        customers to save money.                        ATMs and steal millions (Dallas News).
        banks don’t deliver on the basics of a rela-     $25 bonuses for opening a checking
                                                                                                         Free overdraft protection is now $10.
                                                         account and £10 referral bonuses.
        tionship, innovation doesn’t improve
        advocacy (Figure 4).                             We the Savers: 10 point plan/petition to        ‘Citi Never Sleeps’ ad campaign reinforcing
                                                         help you take control of your financial life.   broad product range and stability.
           Fast-forward to today’s uncertainty. In
        the time between our 2008 study and the
        writing of this article, we have seen          Not so ironically, two of the banks with the      ping 48% ‘true advocacy’ and is the only
        the global credit crunch, the sub-prime        lowest advocacy levels in our study failed        bank brand with positive momentum.
        mortgage crisis, the collapse of invest-       the recent stress test – Bank of America          They did it by doing the opposite of most
        ment banking, skyrocketing home fore-          and Citibank. This further supports many          national retail banks, like Citibank (Fig-
        closures and unemployment rates, the           links that have been drawn between                ure 5). Here are a few of the ways it has
        disappearance of two banks we studied          healthy financial growth and brand advo-          earned advocacy in a category where
        (Wachovia and WAMU), as well as wor-           cacy levels. So, how does a bank increase         advocacy is rare:
        risome results from the government’s           advocacy and win new customers?                   ● Focus: ING Direct has a very simple
        stress test for banks.                            ING Direct entered the US market with          and focused business model and product
           Now, besides the basics of good cus-        a focused business model and a simple             offering. It was early to market, a
        tomer relationships, customers are con-        ethos grounded in savings. It now serves          purely online, interest-bearing checking
        cerned with the stability of banks, the        7.5 million customers in the US and               account, which is still the cornerstone of
        availability of money and the flexibility      enjoys category-high advocacy levels. In          its business today.
        they need in tough financial situations.       our 2008 study, ING Direct had a whop-            ● Simplicity: As a result of its focused

        © World Advertising Research Center 2009                                                                               October 2009 •    Admap 31
ADM Oct 30-32 FOCUS Murphy LAYOUT 3.qxd               9/15/2009       12:24     Page 32




     focusfinancialservicesmarketing
      FIGURE 6                                                                                            estimated that credit unions have about
       How to increase brand advocacy                                                                     14% more brand advocates than regional
                                                                                                          and national retail banks.
      Eleven ways for banks to increase advocacy and position themselves as customer-focused brands          Another advantage of credit unions is
      1) Make leadership more visible. ING Direct's chief executive of savings, Arkadi Kuhlmann, does     that they think locally, as many of them
      this well. Customers want to know there’s a person behind the bank who has a vision for what        are local. So, they can be more oppor-
      value the brand offers and is accountable for delivering it.                                        tunistic with their marketing, position-
      2) Embrace social media. It is a communications medium and a customer service channel               ing themselves as an increasingly relevant
      rolled into one. Use it to find new ways to add value for your customers on an ongoing basis.       alternative to banks.
      3) Give people practical advice and tools to be financially stable and successful… which usually       They also band together. In fact, the
      means being a content broker and provider.                                                          American Association of Credit Unions
      4) Act more, speak less. Consumers now have a healthy dose of cynicism when viewing ads.
                                                                                                          and the World Council of Credit Unions
      Nothing is more convincing than action, so show people what you’re doing to earn their trust.       sponsor a humorous explanation of the
      5) Find your advocates and equip them to spread the word. They are your best marketing tool.
                                                                                                          difference between credit unions and
      Involve them, allow them to participate and feel more like owners, rather than just customers.      banks at www.bankerspank.com. Their
                                                                                                          parody of the Mac/PC campaign argues
      6) Balance technology and personal service. Technology can help to make banking a simple            that the credit union business model is
      retail experience. Mobile banking is emerging as the next opportunity. But add personal service
      instead of charging extra for it, whether it’s in person, on the phone or in chat online.           more beneficial to the customer.
                                                                                                             Another example comes from Servus
      7) Be more transparent. Be up-front about fees and make things easier to understand for
      customers. There is a strong link between simplicity and transparency.                              Credit Union in Canada, which created a
                                                                                                          special user-generated campaign to reach
      8) Earn, don’t trap. Look for ways to earn more business from customers and reward them for it.
                                                                                                          a younger generation of consumers via
      9) Add value with marketing. Every communication is an opportunity to be of service and add         www.youngandfreealberta.com. The blog
      value to the customer’s life. Image management is out, marketing as a service is in.                was launched with some humorous paper
      10) Recognise the past. Even though banks have reinvented themselves, they aren’t starting          cut-out videos, explaining the differences
      from square one. Don’t ignore your past wrongs, but do things that earn back trust by               between credit unions and banks.
      acknowledging wrongs and making them right.
      11) Do good. As CNN Money put it, ‘be a part of society’s safety net’ and enable your               Looking ahead
      customers to take part as well. Developing a belief system worth talking about is a critical part   As banks reorganise and restructure
      of making your advocates more active.
                                                                                                          themselves to serve customers in the new
                                                                                                          financial era, they will need to keep a
     business model, it can portray a very sim-          especially since the government is so            close eye on what may become the new
     ple and transparent experience for its cus-         heavily invested in banks, and consumers         ‘normal’ and what will emerge to be the
     tomers. Its no-nonsense approach, good              are sensitive to the misuse of their tax con-    new banking customer as we make our
     rates and simple user experience run                tributions. Additionally, many banks             way through this financial crisis.
     counter to the rest of the industry.                have compensated heavily to shore up                Meanwhile, banks should do all they
     ● Stability: While larger retail banks              loose lending practices, making it difficult     can to adopt a customer-centric model
     struggled to refocus their business                 for consumers seeking financing to get           necessary for increasing advocacy. That
     from lending to deposits, ING Direct was            mortgages and loans.                             means starting to build a reservoir of trust
     already there and capitalised on it by                 Some banks are focusing their advertis-       and continually winning customers over
     quickly issuing a ‘Declaration of Financial         ing on savings products, others on stabili-      with value-added services, instead of hold-
     Independence’, detailing why it was                 ty and reassurance, while some aren’t            ing them prisoner with the hassle of
     financially solid.                                  advertising at all. But as banks struggle to     switching and the lack of better options.
     ● Advocacy: It rewards people for refer-            adjust to the changing consumer and eco-            A new marketing outlook is dawning
     rals and embraces social media as a                 nomic environment, there is one finan-           for banks: treat each customer as your
     means to be transparent and spread the              cial sector that is taking advantage of the      next 10 customers. Some banks are al-
     word about its philosophy, products and             melee, and that is credit unions.                ready adopting this philosophy. For exam-
     experience.                                            Credit unions were less affected by the       ple, regional banks, such as First Ten-
     ● Empathy: It identifies with people’s              sub-prime mortgage crisis. They are              nessee and Commerce Bank (Bancshares),
     desires, needs and concerns with its mar-           already built upon a more consumer-              top JD Power’s list for their respective
     keting actions. From sponsoring mara-               focused model and are in a position to win       regions. Commerce Bank’s marketing
     thons instead of coliseums (a metaphor              more primary banking relationships as            motto – ‘ask, listen, solve’ – is definitely
     for financial savings, planning and in-             banks struggle to meet the lending needs         something to live up to.
     dividual achievement), to Planet Orange,            of consumers. The biggest barrier for cred-         Poised to capitalise on brand advocacy,
     a programme designed to help kids in                it unions to overcome has been conven-           BB&T is a super-regional bank that not
     grades 1-6 learn about earning, spending,           ience. But, with online banking and a            only passed the stress test with flying
     saving and investing.                               growing network of ATMs shared among             colours, but also ranked top in mortgage
        ING Direct is the anti-bank, as banks            credit unions, that barrier could become         service for the past two years. One thing is
     have been traditionally defined. It has             far less important. Traditionally, credit        for sure; as we head into the new future of
     been able to add value to its customers’            unions have always had better rates on           retail banking, those with the most advo-
     lives without imprisoning them in bad re-           loans, since they are essentially a not-for-     cates will win.
     lationships. Today, many banks are retool-          profit entity that exists to serve its mem-
     ing their offerings to become more                  bers. As a result, they have been a source                          more on financial
     deposit-focused and more customer-cen-              of financing when consumers cannot get                              services marketing at
     tric. Advertising is a confusing landscape,         loans from banks. IBM Business Services                             www.warc.com

     32 Admap • October 2009                                                                                           © World Advertising Research Center 2009

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22squared Admap Article on Retail Banking

  • 1. focusfinancialservicesmarketing Advocacy is key to rebuilding banks’ brand reputations To succeed in the post credit-crunch world, financial organisations need to have customers actively recommending them, argues Brandon Murphy, 22squared T HINK BACK BEFORE the sub- FIGURE 1 Even before the financial solvency and prime mortgage crisis that sent Sizing up brand advocacy practices of retail banks came into ques- retail banking into a tailspin. Hind- tion, many of their customer relation- sight is 20/20, right? But, looking back at Percentage of brand’s customers ships were on the rocks, despite imple- the lending practices of many banks and who are... menting many innovations that made Sha other financial institutions, could we Rec banking more convenient for customers, Diss reh have stopped this crisis? Maybe. But what including online and mobile banking. Eva Mar om olde atis really caused it? Bad business decisions? Across the categories we measured, the nge men gina Acti fied r Lax lending guidelines? Greed? average ‘true advocacy’ (advocates minus list Sati vely Rep l co der cus Probably all of the above and more. But sfie critics) was 21%. Retail banks averaged nsu eat aga tom d even as these unforgivable practices were 9%, even with the inclusion of a standout mer inst er putting our global financial system at risk, such as ING Direct – a brand that ranked ADVOCATES BUYERS CRITICS many banks ignored a measure that could in the top 10% of all the brands studied predict how their customers would (Figure 3). A closer look revealed a poten- respond when the system nearly collapsed tial downward trend as most retail banks and when the honesty and transparency Source for all charts: 22squared scored negative ‘true momentum’, with of banks would be questioned by nearly more customers moving away from the everyone. That measure is advocacy – the FIGURE 2 brand than moving toward the brand. percentage of a bank’s customer base that Retail banks high on critics actively recommends it to others. Bucking the trend In March 2008, right before the US Ad One thing was clear: retail banks were economy started to officially slide into vo 34% growing, and many were doing it in spite ca te recession, we studied the relationships be- 36% of a deficit in personal recommendations. tween six popular US retail banks and But how? The very thing that was fuelling Bu 41% their respective customers. ye r much of their growth was also sacrificing 49% their advocacy levels. Category comparisons For some time, the marketing perspec- Within the same time-frame, we also con- Cr iti 25% tive of retail banking has been ‘the more c ducted similar studies on other cat- 15% share of wallet we can get, the less likely egories, including wireless providers, per- consumers are to switch’. Banks knew sonal computers, apparel retailers and air- Bank mean Cross category mean that the hassle of switching often out- lines. We examined the relationships weighed the benefit of it, especially given each bank held with a random sampling the lack of measurably better alternatives of its customer base. Through the lens of FIGURE 3 and an overall lack of customers advocat- friendship, we explored the roles banks Advocacy and momentum ing for those alternatives. played in the lives of their customers. So, organic growth (selling more prod- We took a pulse on the future direction ING Direct 48% 26% ING Direct ucts to existing customers) became the of each relationship to see which banks focus of many banks. Usually, that’s not a had positive relationship momentum, Personal bad strategy for a brand. After all, the which brands were stagnant and which computers 38% more a customer buys is typically an indi- brands were moving backwards. cation of loyalty and even advocacy. 18% Airlines Most importantly, we measured the Airlines 25% But for banks, this wasn’t the case. 17% Personal ratio of advocates, buyers and critics with- computers In 2006, it was estimated that $20bn, in each bank’s customer base (Figure 1). 17% Apparel half of the industry’s revenue, was gener- The study revealed the prominence of Apparel retailers ated from ‘nuisance fees’. You know, retailers 17% weak and antagonistic relationships the kind of fees that surprise you: the Wireless –7% Wireless between retail banks and their customers. providers 13% providers charge for speaking to a teller; the service Of all the categories studied, retail – 9% Retail banks fee for your checking account when it Retail banks 9% banks had the most critics, with an aver- dropped below a certain balance; age of 25% of customers fitting into the the untold charges for overdrafts; ATM critic category (Figure 2). The only other True advocacy True momentum usage; or shockingly high late fees. category that came close was wireless Category averages Category averages It’s no wonder that 42% of bank cus- % advocates % moving toward providers, with an average 23% of con- minus % critics minus % moving away tomers said they would switch primary sumers feeling trapped by contracts. banks if they had lower fees or better cus- 30 Admap • October 2009 © World Advertising Research Center 2009
  • 2. ADM Oct 30-32 FOCUS Murphy LAYOUT 3.qxd 9/15/2009 12:24 Page 31 Brandon Murphy is director of planning and engagement at 22squared, a marketing agency in the US specialising in developing advocates for brands. His recent work has centred on understanding how brand advocacy and conversation is created in specific product/service categories. brandon.murphy@22squared.com tomer service. Even so, 92% of people FIGURE 4 didn’t switch banks in 2008. Back to basics of relationships While banks were working hard to get more of their customers’ business, they Out of the dozen brand behaviours that drive brand advocacy, three very basic actions were ensuring that many of those cus- were found to drive advocacy the most in retail banking. While these actions seem tomers would ward off potential new intuitive and part of good business, many retail banks have not delivered. ones. The tension between organic 1) Be supportive: This means acting growth, nuisance fees and switching has- on your customers’ behalf and being 65% of customers did not feel their sles led many customers to feel trapped. bank supported them. there when they need you. In fact, of the six retail banks we studied, 41% of customers felt they were trapped 2) Be Transparent: Demonstrate in an involuntary relationship. 57% of customers did not feel their clear and honest intentions while bank was transparent. Along with nuisance fees, other factors not hiding anything. were negatively affecting the customer relationship. 3) Be empathetic: Show you 74% of customers did not feel their ● Customers have scars. Even though understand them and their financial bank understood them. they may not have been switching prim- goals, issues and concerns. ary banks, many customers were divers- ifying across banks because they are FIGURE 5 reluctant to commit more due to negative ING Direct versus Citibank past experiences. ● Privacy was compromised. There were ING DIRECT CITIBANK many instances of banks compromising True advocacy: 48% True advocacy: –10% the identities of their customers, leaving them at risk of fraud. Sampling of current actions: ● Is ‘big’ bad or good? While big banks Simplify everything, ie two-page home loan Raising interest rates on CC average of 3% typically offer more convenience when it agreement (Business Week). (USA Today). comes to branch locations and ATMs, our Forego their annual Christmas parties Some bailout money going to exec bonuses study found that the more branches a to help 55 customers pay off their (USA Today). mortgages (AP). bank has, the lower its advocacy. Embracing social media by providing ● Innovation ambivalence. Large banks transparency and support via Twitter and Sponsoring sports teams and paying for such as Citibank, the innovator in online YouTube. name rights (ABC News). and ATM banking for years, have launch- ‘Declaration of Financial Independence’ Security hole enables hackers to obtain ed many innovative products without in- shows bank stability while helping customers’ PIN numbers at 7-Eleven creasing advocacy. This suggests that, if customers to save money. ATMs and steal millions (Dallas News). banks don’t deliver on the basics of a rela- $25 bonuses for opening a checking Free overdraft protection is now $10. account and £10 referral bonuses. tionship, innovation doesn’t improve advocacy (Figure 4). We the Savers: 10 point plan/petition to ‘Citi Never Sleeps’ ad campaign reinforcing help you take control of your financial life. broad product range and stability. Fast-forward to today’s uncertainty. In the time between our 2008 study and the writing of this article, we have seen Not so ironically, two of the banks with the ping 48% ‘true advocacy’ and is the only the global credit crunch, the sub-prime lowest advocacy levels in our study failed bank brand with positive momentum. mortgage crisis, the collapse of invest- the recent stress test – Bank of America They did it by doing the opposite of most ment banking, skyrocketing home fore- and Citibank. This further supports many national retail banks, like Citibank (Fig- closures and unemployment rates, the links that have been drawn between ure 5). Here are a few of the ways it has disappearance of two banks we studied healthy financial growth and brand advo- earned advocacy in a category where (Wachovia and WAMU), as well as wor- cacy levels. So, how does a bank increase advocacy is rare: risome results from the government’s advocacy and win new customers? ● Focus: ING Direct has a very simple stress test for banks. ING Direct entered the US market with and focused business model and product Now, besides the basics of good cus- a focused business model and a simple offering. It was early to market, a tomer relationships, customers are con- ethos grounded in savings. It now serves purely online, interest-bearing checking cerned with the stability of banks, the 7.5 million customers in the US and account, which is still the cornerstone of availability of money and the flexibility enjoys category-high advocacy levels. In its business today. they need in tough financial situations. our 2008 study, ING Direct had a whop- ● Simplicity: As a result of its focused © World Advertising Research Center 2009 October 2009 • Admap 31
  • 3. ADM Oct 30-32 FOCUS Murphy LAYOUT 3.qxd 9/15/2009 12:24 Page 32 focusfinancialservicesmarketing FIGURE 6 estimated that credit unions have about How to increase brand advocacy 14% more brand advocates than regional and national retail banks. Eleven ways for banks to increase advocacy and position themselves as customer-focused brands Another advantage of credit unions is 1) Make leadership more visible. ING Direct's chief executive of savings, Arkadi Kuhlmann, does that they think locally, as many of them this well. Customers want to know there’s a person behind the bank who has a vision for what are local. So, they can be more oppor- value the brand offers and is accountable for delivering it. tunistic with their marketing, position- 2) Embrace social media. It is a communications medium and a customer service channel ing themselves as an increasingly relevant rolled into one. Use it to find new ways to add value for your customers on an ongoing basis. alternative to banks. 3) Give people practical advice and tools to be financially stable and successful… which usually They also band together. In fact, the means being a content broker and provider. American Association of Credit Unions 4) Act more, speak less. Consumers now have a healthy dose of cynicism when viewing ads. and the World Council of Credit Unions Nothing is more convincing than action, so show people what you’re doing to earn their trust. sponsor a humorous explanation of the 5) Find your advocates and equip them to spread the word. They are your best marketing tool. difference between credit unions and Involve them, allow them to participate and feel more like owners, rather than just customers. banks at www.bankerspank.com. Their parody of the Mac/PC campaign argues 6) Balance technology and personal service. Technology can help to make banking a simple that the credit union business model is retail experience. Mobile banking is emerging as the next opportunity. But add personal service instead of charging extra for it, whether it’s in person, on the phone or in chat online. more beneficial to the customer. Another example comes from Servus 7) Be more transparent. Be up-front about fees and make things easier to understand for customers. There is a strong link between simplicity and transparency. Credit Union in Canada, which created a special user-generated campaign to reach 8) Earn, don’t trap. Look for ways to earn more business from customers and reward them for it. a younger generation of consumers via 9) Add value with marketing. Every communication is an opportunity to be of service and add www.youngandfreealberta.com. The blog value to the customer’s life. Image management is out, marketing as a service is in. was launched with some humorous paper 10) Recognise the past. Even though banks have reinvented themselves, they aren’t starting cut-out videos, explaining the differences from square one. Don’t ignore your past wrongs, but do things that earn back trust by between credit unions and banks. acknowledging wrongs and making them right. 11) Do good. As CNN Money put it, ‘be a part of society’s safety net’ and enable your Looking ahead customers to take part as well. Developing a belief system worth talking about is a critical part As banks reorganise and restructure of making your advocates more active. themselves to serve customers in the new financial era, they will need to keep a business model, it can portray a very sim- especially since the government is so close eye on what may become the new ple and transparent experience for its cus- heavily invested in banks, and consumers ‘normal’ and what will emerge to be the tomers. Its no-nonsense approach, good are sensitive to the misuse of their tax con- new banking customer as we make our rates and simple user experience run tributions. Additionally, many banks way through this financial crisis. counter to the rest of the industry. have compensated heavily to shore up Meanwhile, banks should do all they ● Stability: While larger retail banks loose lending practices, making it difficult can to adopt a customer-centric model struggled to refocus their business for consumers seeking financing to get necessary for increasing advocacy. That from lending to deposits, ING Direct was mortgages and loans. means starting to build a reservoir of trust already there and capitalised on it by Some banks are focusing their advertis- and continually winning customers over quickly issuing a ‘Declaration of Financial ing on savings products, others on stabili- with value-added services, instead of hold- Independence’, detailing why it was ty and reassurance, while some aren’t ing them prisoner with the hassle of financially solid. advertising at all. But as banks struggle to switching and the lack of better options. ● Advocacy: It rewards people for refer- adjust to the changing consumer and eco- A new marketing outlook is dawning rals and embraces social media as a nomic environment, there is one finan- for banks: treat each customer as your means to be transparent and spread the cial sector that is taking advantage of the next 10 customers. Some banks are al- word about its philosophy, products and melee, and that is credit unions. ready adopting this philosophy. For exam- experience. Credit unions were less affected by the ple, regional banks, such as First Ten- ● Empathy: It identifies with people’s sub-prime mortgage crisis. They are nessee and Commerce Bank (Bancshares), desires, needs and concerns with its mar- already built upon a more consumer- top JD Power’s list for their respective keting actions. From sponsoring mara- focused model and are in a position to win regions. Commerce Bank’s marketing thons instead of coliseums (a metaphor more primary banking relationships as motto – ‘ask, listen, solve’ – is definitely for financial savings, planning and in- banks struggle to meet the lending needs something to live up to. dividual achievement), to Planet Orange, of consumers. The biggest barrier for cred- Poised to capitalise on brand advocacy, a programme designed to help kids in it unions to overcome has been conven- BB&T is a super-regional bank that not grades 1-6 learn about earning, spending, ience. But, with online banking and a only passed the stress test with flying saving and investing. growing network of ATMs shared among colours, but also ranked top in mortgage ING Direct is the anti-bank, as banks credit unions, that barrier could become service for the past two years. One thing is have been traditionally defined. It has far less important. Traditionally, credit for sure; as we head into the new future of been able to add value to its customers’ unions have always had better rates on retail banking, those with the most advo- lives without imprisoning them in bad re- loans, since they are essentially a not-for- cates will win. lationships. Today, many banks are retool- profit entity that exists to serve its mem- ing their offerings to become more bers. As a result, they have been a source more on financial deposit-focused and more customer-cen- of financing when consumers cannot get services marketing at tric. Advertising is a confusing landscape, loans from banks. IBM Business Services www.warc.com 32 Admap • October 2009 © World Advertising Research Center 2009