Banks need to regain customer confidence

MarketingWeek, January 7, 2009

There’s nothing like a recession to focus the mind. Hence I was not surprised to see Barclays’ marketing chief Libby Chambers tell Marketing Week (January 7, 2009) that she has a business-led agenda rather than a marketing led agenda.

While the new tone of Barclays advertising is important, the current climate in which trust has been severely tested also demands action across the branch network and among employees. This has been traditionally difficult for banks who have focussed their brand building efforts on pre-sales touch points, which are easily developed using advertising, direct marketing and sponsorships.

To regain customer confidence, the key messages and values transmitted through advertising, direct marketing and sponsorships must be consistent with the physical appearance of the offices, employee profile, products offered, point of sale materials, and tone and style used when dealing with customers not to mention the processes that impact the customer experience.

Our collective experience tells us that high street banks fail on most or all of these factors and it will be interesting to see if Barclays, and its peers, will finally address these issues holistically in 2009.

Vanessa Cohen

Partner

Prophet – Brand, Marketing & Innovation Strategy