(Source: Marketing Week)
The banking world is reeling (again). European Union bods have
demanded the break-up of RBS and Lloyds, with both forced to sell
off prized brands to alleviate competition concerns. The Government
is adding another pound 40bn worth of taxpayers' capital to the
balance sheets of our "nationalised" banks. HSBC is losing 1,700 UK
jobs.
By sheer coincidence, my diary had me addressing the Financial
Services Forum this morning. In a panel discussion in front of 150
top banking marketers, I argued that a combination of factors means
good marketing has the potential to revolutionise the banking
industry in the next few years.
Examine those factors for a moment - the growing feeling of
empowerment among consumers thanks to digital technologies and
social media, allied to a shift in the importance of peer-to-peer
influences and word of mouth marketing; diminished trust in
traditional banks; and the fact that consumers are still a long way
from the central focus when it comes to doing business in this
sector. This leaves room for vast improvement in the banks' customer
experience.
As Stuart Smith outlines in his column on page 10, the EU carve-
up alone will offer huge opportunities for marketers with the
creation of three new high street brands. Add to those the branded
entrants to the sector - still not taken seriously from within
banking if this morning's event was anything to go by. The response
to the likes of Tesco's banking plans from the floor could be
summarised by "seen it all before" and "inertia might disappear for
a year or two but it will return".
Such an attitude smacks of an opportunity for change about to be
wasted. If I was going to build a new retail banking brand, it
wouldn't be hard to find the necessary point of difference -
consistent and exceptional customer experience across all channels.
Innovation should be based on consumer needs as opposed to being
based on new technologies (read our profile of Philips CMO Geert van
Kuyck on page 14). True hearts and minds stuff.
Whether it be a new brand or an old one such as Northern Rock
with new owners, let's see the new managements take bank marketing
from the "here is our latest campaign" level to the heights of
consumer engagement we see in every other sector. Banking marketers
who are only ever allowed by the structure of their organisations to
achieve satisfactory customer experiences could soon face
competition from those who intend to exceed customer expectations.
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