What attributes should your FI promote?

by. Joe Swatek

A survey compiled the 100 most-loved worldwide companies. At best, that’s mildly interesting to financial services marketers, but the criteria for selections are something you should examine.

APCO, a global communications company based in Washington, D.C., conducted the survey in 15 international markets, with 70,000 consumers. The study measured emotional feelings people have toward brands. Those eight feelings are…

  • Understanding
  • Approachability
  • Relevance
  • Admiration
  • Curiosity
  • Identification
  • Empowerment
  • Pride

Whether or not you see the relevance of measuring those feelings, think about this question…

How would your bank or credit union measure up if your customers or members and the general population of your markets rated your financial institution in those same categories?

Would consumers say your customer service personnel are understanding? Do your marketing promotions generate curiosity and draw prospects to your website and branches? Is your financial institution admired in the community and are your employees and customers/members proud to be part of your organization?

This could be another list you pin to your wall or bulletin board and refer to every time you review your marketing materials. See how many of these consumer touch-points you hit.

As you might expect, no U.S. mega-bank made the list of beloved brands. However, there was one bank. Commerzbank of Frankfurt, Germany, came in at number 72 with a 66.9 rating based on those eight categories.

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