Conduct a brand audit

Note: The following is an excerpt from 30 Ideas to Build and Live Your Brand. For a free copy of the complete book, click here.

Your brand is everything your financial institution does and stands for – products and services, customer service, branch appearance, marketing collateral, employee appearance and even restroom cleanliness. Any one of these details can make or break your brand, which means you need to monitor them regularly and audit them occasionally.

Similar to a marketing audit, a brand audit assesses the marketing collateral in the branches – how you display it, if the look and message are consistent on every piece and whether it is neatly displayed or looks cluttered. In the audits we have conducted for clients, we typically have found too many pieces with a look and message that are all over the board and lack consistency.

Mystery shops by an objective third party (not an existing member) are an important piece of your brand audit. An effective auditor talks to your branch employees, taking note of how they greet people and how they treat people. He or she inquires about products and services and may attempt to open an account. This type of feedback from an objective source goes a long way in helping you measure the true member or customer experience.

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