- +353 1 205 7500
Brand Tracking
SHARE:
Following a major economic recession, a financial institution faced severe public backlash and reputational damage due to its role in the crisis, particularly its lending practices. Public sentiment blamed the banking sector’s reckless lending for the economic collapse. The bank’s reputation plummeted, reflected in a low brand ranking and public anger directed at its leadership.
Trust needed to be rebuilt and its market position regained. The bank sought to understand the fundamental needs and wants of SMEs to identify how it could provide meaningful support and rebuild relationships. This required employing innovative and unconventional research methods to gain a deeper understanding of the SME perspective.
A multi-phased, qualitative research approach was employed. This allowed for a deeper understanding of SME needs and perceptions in a sensitive environment. Existing data revealed a negative sentiment towards banks, but also an understanding that a functioning banking system was crucial for economic recovery. This highlighted the need for the bank to demonstrate its value to the SME market.
We designed an iterative qualitative approach whereby the insights and learning from one phase of research fed into the next. This modular approach yielded as informed a set of insights around the business banking market as possible, and also allowed our qualitative practitioners the time between modules to challenge and re-appraise their own assumptions in what has been a rapidly changing environment.
Prior to any research being undertaken we also conducted a cultural context audit – a review of existing published data and bank research – to discern the state of play among SMEs.
There was an unanimous acknowledgement that Irish business and, by extension, the economy in general, needed a fully functioning banking system in order to recover. The challenge was to produce a set of research insights that the institution could legitimately leverage to convince the market that they were worthy of fulfilling this need.
The financial institution that was significantly impacted by the recession was showing strong signs of recovery. Their research-based brand strategy, focused on supporting businesses, resonated well and led to improved trust and market share. While full recovery was still a work in progress, the financial institution had made a substantial turnaround.
