Financial marketing

The Hidden Banking Crisis

20th February 2013

James M. McCormick, president of First Manhattan Consulting Group, has a marketing team that has commissioned thousands of “mystery shops” and interviews with front-line employees at retail banks. During their visits, his researchers always ask bank employees a simple question: “As a customer, why should I choose your bank over the competition?”

Two-thirds of the time, McCormick noted, the employees have no answer to that question; they either say nothing or, in his words, “make something up on the fly.”

It is absolutely imperative that senior financial marketers make differentiation their number one priority. This is the time to workshop, educate, train and mentor front line employees to be able to explain simply and convincingly what makes their organisation different from, and superior to, the competition.

The hidden banking crisis, the lack of differentiation between financial brands, threatens their very existence. It’s time to take control and ensure that every member of your team knows the values of your organisation and has a consistent elevator pitch.