KQ Article

All financial institutions consider brand management essential to their success. But few possess a clear grasp of what this concept means, or how it relates to other functions across their organization.

The concept of brand extends well beyond logos and letterhead designs. It is your story, your essence. Your brand is the gut feeling customers have about you, shaped by the customer experience that profoundly influences which financial institution they choose to patronize.

This issue of The Deluxe Knowledge Quarterly sets out to define and demystify the notion of brand. It also offers tangible measures to help you capitalize on your story in the marketplace. The first article, an excerpt from Marty Neumeier’s best-selling book The Brand Gap, details how our brands are primarily defined by consumers, not us, and how trust forms the defining factor for building a standout brand.

Later in this issue, branding expert Mich Bergesen devotes an entire essay to the topic of trust; discussing ways to restore the consumer confidence that has taken a big hit during the current sub prime mortgage fiasco. “Winning over customers will be hard work for the financial services sector,” he writes. “Institutions that thrive will be those that [establish] authentic relationships with a degree of empathy. In other words, the strongest brands will rise to the top.”

The 2008 Collaborative has also identified an effective means of reducing problems with customers and members: by shifting service employee attitudes toward those problems, through better tools, training and institutional support.
 
A properly managed brand will nurture a loyal and profitable base of customers, while helping to soften the impact of periodic economic downturns. We invite you to read further for some useful strategies on building a winning brand and a stellar customer experience.

_{© 2010 Luann Widener}