By John Mathes
What are some of your first childhood memories? Chances are they relate to early friends and shared experiences growing up. Remember those first awkward moments as you sized up a potential buddy and built up the nerve to ask, "Do you like me?" And that was usually followed by an, "If so, then I'll like you." The emotion and act of liking someone or something has been burned into our psyche almost from the start of our existence.
No wonder then that likeability primarily drives our decision to do business with a company. Nobody wants to spend hard-earned money with someone or something they don't like. The process is too painful, and we try to avoid it at all costs.
Advertising creators learned about likeability years ago. Many research studies proved that making choices is an emotional process, and the best way to communicate reasons to buy is by crafting messages that are likable. The theory goes, "If you like my advertising, then you'll like my products (or services) and you'll want to do business with me." Likability advertising comes in all forms; it doesn't necessarily have to use humor, but that seems to be the execution of choice for most large advertisers. I guess we all enjoy a good laugh and want to be associated with laughter and good times.
Building a brand follows the same emotional paths. From a pragmatic point of view, brands grow via the tools of acquisition and retention. To most analysts, it's a numbers game; that's why you see many credit unions touting their asset size or how many members they have. To be sure, numbers are important, but in the long run, the numbers represent only a snapshot of vitality. For the complete movie version of the story, you must look at the intangible aspects of the relationships.
And, they are relationships. You're with me on this point, right? People want a relationship with the stewards of their money. Personal finance decisions are not made through faceless bits and bytes over the Internet (yes, account management and bill-pay are to die for on the Internet, but they are simply tools). Relationships embody the very tenets and viability of credit union membership and should be carefully nurtured.
Who wants a relationship with somebody they don't like? Not me. Not you. And certainly not your members.
Until recently, there has not been good measurement of the intangible, emotional aspects of credit union brands. We simply studied asset/member size to determine if the credit union was performing well. But that does not put credit unions on a level playing field. Why should an institution be rewarded for being in a larger market, or having little competition or operating in an area of household affluence?
With the July 2008 release of Bancography's Brand Value Index, we now have a way to measure the value of every credit union brand in the country. The value of a brand can be quantified as the difference between a company's overall value and the portion of its value that's can be attributed to its tangible assets or to external market factors. The brand value represents the premium added by such intangible factors as service, reputation and image.
These factors are critical, as they can help drive low-cost growth. For example, any institution can grow simply by paying top-of-market rates on CDs; similarly, most institutions located in fast-growing markets will grow almost by default. But only institutions with strong brands—created through superior service, exemplary community relations and consistent messaging—can create the customer loyalty that allows growth even in adverse conditions and without having to resort to the bribery of paying top dollar for every relationship.
The resulting brand values are comparable and ranked regardless of asset/member size.
How does your credit union's brand rank? Is your brand preferred over the behemoth credit union across town? Or is the little former SEG-based upstart down the street cleaning your clock? You can find the top credit unions (and banks) here.
You would like me and want me as a member. The question is … would I like you?
John Mathes is director of brand strategy at Bancography, a CUES Supplier member, Birmingham, Ala. If you'd like to know where your credit union ranks on the index, contact Bancography at info@bancography.com or 205.252.6671.
Read more on branding in the CUES Skybox and CUES Nexus Connection archives.
