It's time to take a look at your brand.
Posted on April 6th 2009
Mortgage Strategy: Alan Cleary’s column.
Managing Director
Having attended last week’s annual conference of The Financial Services Forum which had a variety of interesting speakers including Vince Cable MP, the topic of trust in financial services companies was a major talking point. Given the events of the last 18 months that have seen unprecedented stress on our banks and the spectacular failures of some, it would not be surprising to hear that many believe consumers have lost their trust in financial institutions.
A long debate ensued that went from one view that consumers never had trust in financial services companies in the first place so therefore you cannot lose something which you never had. To consumers trust in financial companies is integral to the functioning of the entire economy. The general consensus was that trust is integral to the well being of the markets. But what is that trust going to look like? Tesco’s announcement last week is probably a sign of things to come. Large, trusted companies currently not well known for financial services may well decide that now is the time to capitalise on consumers mistrust of those companies perceived to have got it wrong. New brands may well emerge that have previously had no involvement and existing brands will have to think long and hard about their own position. The Financial Services Forum is focused on marketing and according to many senior marketers, now is a great time to build a brand. There are fewer competitors so achieving stand out campaigns is easier than in a crowded market and it is significantly more cost effective now given the general slump in advertising spend. What was clear to me is that brand will be just as important in the coming years as it was in the past and those that invest in the downturn will potentially be well positioned for the upturn.
