As a financial marketer, you’re always on the lookout for new ways to bust out of the sea of sameness to attract new customers and clients or deepen existing relationships. Yet, your budgets are constantly scrutinized, looking for attribution and the “right” mix of tactics. Your KPIs probably include looking for net new households, gaining share of wallet, increasing product penetration. All the while, you’re balancing the need to build your brand with short-term requests for demand generation.
But, you know your brand is the heart of your business—what makes it memorable and gives it identity. It touches all your stakeholders, from customers and prospects to employees and partners in the communities where you live and work. For banks and credit unions, a strong brand is crucial for building trust, fostering loyalty, and differentiating in a competitive market.
So, if you’re considering rebranding—whether it’s a facelift, an overhaul, or something in between—you’ll want to ensure that your time and resources are well spent.
Consider these four questions before getting started on a rebrand effort:
1. What’s Your Why?
Let’s start with a simple question, even if its answer is complex: Why are you looking to rebrand? Is it due to a strategic shift in your core offerings? Do you need to further differentiate from competitors (established, newly merged or de novo)? Or are you aiming for a fresh aesthetic to attract a younger demographic? Understanding the driving force behind your rebrand sets the parameters for how deep you’ll need to go. Rebranding can be a lengthy process, and if you don’t know the answer to this question, it might indicate you’re not quite ready.
2. What Are You Willing to Invest?
Determining your investment—both in terms of dollars and hours, for your team and any external partners—will shape your rebranding approach. The greater the investment, the more thorough you can be, from market research to creative design and marketing strategies. For banks and credit unions, this could mean investing in new technology to support a modernized brand experience or conducting extensive customer research to understand evolving needs. A well-funded rebrand boosts your chances of achieving increased target market fit, competitiveness and visibility.
3. What’s Your Timeframe?
If you’re planning a large, well-informed rebrand, expect to spend at least six months on the process. While a shorter turnaround might be feasible if you’re working towards a hard deadline, like a product launch or a specific event, this often requires trade-offs on the depth of research informing your new brand strategy. In such cases, you might rely more on internal knowledge and gut instincts rather than comprehensive audience insights. For banks and credit unions, ensuring that your new brand resonates with both current and prospective customers is crucial, so taking an additional ten to fifteen weeks to launch could be a valuable investment in your brand’s longevity.
4. What Does Success Look Like to You?
Defining success with clear metrics and goals is crucial to managing stakeholder expectations. For banks and credit unions, this might include metrics such as increased customer acquisition (within or outside your branch footprint), enhanced brand awareness, improved customer satisfaction scores, or growth in digital engagement. Brand awareness and perception take time to build, particularly if your rebrand is comprehensive. Think of your timeline in terms of years, not months. Smaller, more immediate changes can still be noticed as value-adds, but don’t expect a full view of the results within the first twelve months.
With these four questions addressed, you can feel confident you and your team have considered all the important inputs and decisions to be successful in rebranding your bank or credit union. You are ready to set off on your rebranding effort.
Buckle up! It’s an exciting time to be an FI marketer.