Brand Review Banks: Which brand claims the strongest mental position among banks?

Brandreview provides strategic insight into the positions brands occupy in the minds of consumers. Each month, Validators takes a closer look at a different industry. This month we examine banks, mapping the mental market position of the ten most frequently mentioned banks. Brandreview is part of the Consumer Behavior Monitor, initiative of Validators and VU Amsterdam to measure the effect of a crisis on consumer behavior since 2020. In this article you can read the main findings.

The purpose of research is to capture the perspective of consumers. This is a step that is often skipped, because it is often reasoned and measured from the brand itself. But by starting precisely with the consumer (and not the brand), you get to identify what is really relevant to the target audience. What do consumers base their banking choices on? Validators came up with sixteen key needs (Category Entry Points) for choosing a bank. Of these, the chart below shows the two most relevant and least relevant needs.

'Where my money is safe' is the most important reason for 97% of Dutch people to be with a bank. Followed by 'easy online arrangement' which 95% indicate as a relevant reason. The overall relevance of banks' Category Entry Points (CEPs)compared to other industries is high. Half of the CEPs have a relevance score of 90% or higher. To put this in perspective, from 80% relevance we call it high relevance. When in a brand survey the relevance exceeds 90% we call it hygiene factors. These CEPs a brand (in this case banks) must always have to keep up in the mental competition in the minds of consumers. The less relevant reasons are "making international payments" (53%) and in last place "where my family/friends do their money business" (28%).

Figure 1: Top 2 highest and lowest relevance within banks

Market shares in banking industry

Rabobank claims leadership in both mental market share and actual market share, followed by ING. However, both market leaders do score "below the line. The situation for Rabobank and ING means that they are less considered than expected for their market share, yet still often chosen (real market share). The ideal position is to be 'above the line' as a brand, where there is growth potential. When a brand is considered more than chosen, there is a barrier that prevents this full occupancy. The key is to investigate what this is and remove the barrier to achieve brand growth.

Figure 2: Mental versus real market share banks

Market shares of banks may differ when looking at primary customer relationship, products or balance sheet totals. As a result, actual market shares may differ from other metrics or measurements.

Mental competition battle by CEP

The various CEPs measure the number of brands being considered. If many brands are considered in a category, then (mental) competition is greater. The number of competitors within banks ranges from 2.7 to 3.7. In terms of ROI, it can make quite a difference in which need you want to grow. For example, the least competition is on "family/friends" and the most competition is on "safe. Based on this competitive analysis, it becomes clear per CEP whether you have a small or large mental battle to wage in the minds of consumers.

What does the competition score high on?

What is even more important is to know what the competition is doing. A key component for growing in mental market share is clearly mapping the competitive umbrella and what is happening here. The previous analysis explored the considerations for each CEP, now we take a closer look at this. On which CEPs does the competition score mentally higher or lower? In Figure 3, we zoom in on the CEP "user-friendly app" on which ING scores high. This means that when another bank wants to communicate a 'user-friendly app' in campaigns, a competitor (ING) has already strongly claimed this CEP.

Figure 3: CEP User-friendly app

Another handsome achievement is that of ASN Bank in the 'People & Nature' category, where, at 17%, it shows a score almost 2.5 times higher than its own mental share of 7%. As a result, ASN Bank is one of the few banks that managed to win a category to itself. Triodos Bank follows ASN Bank and also does very well in this category, with 9% compared to its own mental share of 4%. With a 70% relevance score, "People & Nature" is not the most important category within the banks but this growth gives ASN Bank an excellent starting position for the future.

Growth opportunities for brands in mental market share

Recently, Validators developed the Brand Growth Matrix as a validation on prioritization of growth opportunities on credibility/strength brand link, competition and relevance. The result is a matrix that makes it clear to brands where opportunities for growth in market share lie. The Brand Growth Matrix gives direction to the discussion between marketers, media agencies and advertisers and makes choices in communication with consumers easier.

For the following example in Figure 4, Regiobank was analyzed using the Brand Growth Matrix. The green field reads “attractive savings interest rate”; this need has a high relevance (85%) and is strongly linked to the Regiobank brand. “User-friendly app” appears as a growth opportunity in the yellow sections; it has a high relevance (90%) and is moderately linked to Regiobank. These are growth opportunities to gain mental market share, with ING being the main competitor in this regard (see Figure 3).

Figure 4: Brand Growth Matrix Region Bank

Customers are much more positive about their own bank

Every industry has its standouts, but when doing in-depth analyses on banks, we immediately noticed something. Normally there is always a difference in terms of mental market share between customers and non-customers of a brand. With the banks this difference is very large and within them ASN Bank is the front runner with an eight times larger mental position. Large differences between yes/no customers underline the importance for brands to let customers try their product or service.

Structure Brand Review

In 2018, VU Amsterdam and Validators launched the Institute for Brand Analytics. The goal of this collaboration is to make brands steerable and market share measurable in the minds of consumers. After four years of research on over 300 brands, we arrived at a method that could measure the strength of brands and make predictions about market share. Starting in August, a specific industry will run each month as part of the Consumer Behavior Monitor. First, an online qualitative preliminary survey tests consumer needs (CEPs) and then a Brand Review measurement.

You can also read this article on MarketingTribune.