Testing a Bank’s Brand Perception
I was talking with a marketer with a local bank about how to test the perception of the bank’s brand with the local market. It was a productive chat so I’ll share some steps identified in this post.
Why would you test a brand’s perception? The executives will have opinions about what the brand is, certainly the marketing team will have ideas on what the brand is, or should be. But how to take those internal opinions while also researching brand perception of the bank in the local community? What would that process look like?
You’re going to do a research project on brand perception. But what do you want to know? Step one: define objectives. What specific perceptions and aspects of the brand do you want to explore? Customer service? Community support? Small business support? Digital banking experience? Or overall reputation? I’d recommend you establish a list of your KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure details like brand awareness, customer satisfaction, use of website (and/or app), community engagement, and support for local business and local charities.
Then you need to segment your audience because different groups will have different perceptions, and you want to test these perceptions. I’d create several pools including: existing customers, non-customers (community members banking elsewhere), stakeholders, and employees.
You’ll need to choose your research methodology. Ideally, you’ll want a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods. (And if you ever need a hand remembering what is qual, and what is quant, here’s my little mnemonic: quant = quantity. Counting. While qual = qualify. So quantitative research is data-driven, and qualitative research is non-numerical data to gain a deeper understanding.)
Develop surveys and questionnaires with open-ended and close-ended questions (this gives a mix of quantitative and qualitative data). There are a ton of digital platforms that can help with distribution and collection of responses.
Budget permitting, and this is true in any industry, focus groups are invaluable because they let you dive deeper into attitudes and perceptions and give insights beyond what just a survey can offer.
You’ll want to do in-depth interviews. One-on-one conversations with customers and stakeholders will reveal important details on perceptions and experiences of the brand.
In the course of putting together your study and the questions you will ask to test the perception of the bank brand, you want to ensure the questions are unbiased so you can get honest feedback. You’ll want to determine a manageable sample size. And you’ll need to determine the channels for outreach (like email, and/or social, and/or branch visits).
It is good to do a test drive (or a pilot test) before launching the study so that you can identify any issues with survey design or the your interview scripts.
Then you’ll collect data to analyze and present findings. If you are working with a research company who does focus groups, they will be able to help share findings. But if you are doing a small scope, just ensure that your tools (like email surveys) have adequate reporting functionality. When you analyze and present, you’ll organize common findings so that these themes can be accurately shared.
I recommend always that you take the time to compare your research and findings against perceptions of competitor banks of institutions. Competitor research helps with understanding what you do what, what your competitors do well will always reveal opportunity that may. Not have been considered. Benchmarking against competitors can also create opportunities for additional research.
As you develop insights and recommendations, you’ll share comments on how the brand is perceived. And you will identify areas where the bank excels, where there are gaps, and where there are negative perceptions. The final presentation should include recommendations for addressing problem areas, such as improving customer service or hold time or app functionality. The recommendations may also include recommendations for adjusting your marketing and communications strategy.
When changes are presented and any adjustments are approved, be ready to monitor and evaluate your changes. The final recommendation should include a plan on how to test and monitor brand perceptions and, if appropriate, the final presentation should include guidance on how to share any important details with your customers and with the community.
About me: I’m Robert O’Shaughnessy, I’m a brand strategist based in San Francisco and love working with clients in banking and finance. Two of my biggest clients come from banking, Rural 1st and Great Gray by Wilmington Trust. At my agency, OE Communications (www.oecommunications.com), we specialize in fostering growth through strategic, full-funnel B2B and B2C marketing efforts including brand development, strategy, positioning, and research including research projects like the brand perception project described in this blog post. As a fractional CMO or just as a provider of agency services, my goal is to help clients navigate the complexities of marketing, ensuring success and growth in a competitive landscape. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your marketing journey.