They’re back! But the question is, do you still want them?
A recent article at CNNMoney.com shows that after a year of bonuses, bailouts, tight credit, rising fees, and reduced lending, some of the nation’s top lenders, including Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) are actively pursuing new customers.
Case in point, Citigroup has launched a company-sponsored web blog that details the various efforts the New York City-based bank is making to help get the company back on track. Readers are also free to post their own thoughts.
And if you’re one of the millions of Americans captivated by the Winter Olympics, chances are you saw Wells Fargo’s “With You When…” campaign, which features images of parents dropping their kids off at college and a woman who has achieved her dream of becoming a veterinarian.
“Consumers told us what they wanted more than anything from a financial institution with whom they’ve worked was they wanted to have the feeling that the institution was with you,” said Sylvia Reynolds, Wells Fargo’s chief marketing officer.
But according to branding expert Alan Siegel, the sustained level of public outrage over taxpayer bailouts and big bonuses for Wall Street, will make it difficult for big banks to reconnect with consumers.
A bank’s ability to improve its image in the minds of consumers though is certainly not helped by the way Americans bank nowadays, said branding expert Alan Siegel.
Unlike in the past where a bank customer might head to their local branch to cash a check, large numbers of consumers today now opt for the convenience of using the nearby ATM instead.
0:00 /2:45Small banks still not lending
“You have become a number,” said Siegel, chairman of the strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale. “You no longer have a relationship with anyone at a bank.”
A recent survey by market research firm YouGov, backs Siegel’s comments. Those Americans surveyed tended to have a negative association with three of the country’s largest banks: Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). Even the image of Wells Fargo, which was positively viewed by those polled, is close to its lowest level since the crisis started.
That’s not to say big banks can’t, or won’t, be able to repair ties with disgruntled account holders or former customers that moved their money to the community bank down the street or a local credit union.
But, say marketing experts, big banks will need to deliver a tone of accountability and clarity in order to win back the trust of frustrated customers.
“They are going to have to spend a lot more time building trust at the individual level,” said Kent Grayson, professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
The nation’s top banks however, have been slow to get such messages out. Citigroup, Bank of America and Chase have only spent a combined $690 million on advertisements through last September, according to Kantar Media.
Compare that to same period in 2008 when the same three spent a combined $1.11 billion.
Top lenders, of course, may very well be waiting for the public firestorm to blow over or trying to craft a pitch-perfect message. They may also be more inclined to spend money on marketing once there is more proof the economy and their financial fortunes are really recovering.
