The financial services industry is rarely associated with excitement. From the outside, the subject matter seems dull, even when it’s understood to be vital, and there’s little to distinguish between organisations. Financial services businesses can easily merge in the mind’s eye, which can make it difficult to attract customers, let alone engage with them and hold their attention.
That’s where branding should come into play, but despite a few logo changes and quirky advertisements, as of 2024, very few businesses within the industry have managed to break entirely free of the expected mould and create a distinctive brand.
Why is branding so difficult for financial services providers?
Theoretically, branding should be no more challenging for financial services providers than any other business type. The same strategies and tools are available to the financial services industry as every other sector. There’s nothing to stop banks, building societies, lenders, insurers, or investment companies from forging their own unique brand persona – apart from fear.
There’s the fear of not being taken seriously. The fear that existing and older customers may resist change. And the concern that even changing anything as minor as a logo or colour palette may negatively impact brand identity and make the company less recognisable. The thing is, change needn’t be instant or jarring. It’s possible to make small, incremental changes that are sensitive to the needs of existing customers while accommodating the evolving needs of society and enhancing public perception.
How can financial services companies improve their branding?
If branding is going to be effective, it needs to be applied to all elements of a business, rather than a simple veneer. So, various aspects need to be addressed.
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Language and tone
Financial institutions largely take a formal approach to language. Part of that is driven by compliance and the necessity for industry jargon. And part from the understanding that finance is a serious business, so a serious tone needs to be taken. But what is typically overlooked is that serious matters also need to be accessible. If consumers are going to engage with a business’s products and brands, both need to be more user-friendly. That doesn’t mean dumbing down, but changing the tone, introducing language that is understandable and friendly and using formats that appeal to every potential branch of a customer base. The aim is to make the brand both accessible and relatable.
Visual aesthetic
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a financial services brand that embraces grey or beige in its logo or colour palette, and yet those are the colours overwhelmingly associated with the industry. Dusty and boring, with no-nonsense visuals, it can be hard for financial businesses to make an impact. This partly goes back to the fear of change – brands want to deliver what is expected of them, fearing that moving away from the expected will stop customers from taking them seriously or even associating them with their industry.
But again, it’s worth remembering that change doesn’t have to happen all at once, and incremental changes can be impactful. Barclays is the perfect example of this, with their slow transition from boring deep blue to the incorporation of a pastel rainbow palette. The change was so slow, that few people even realised it was happening. But if you approach the brand as a new customer today, the aesthetic impact is entirely different to the Barclays of a decade ago.
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Financial services have always worked to their own hours – something reflected in the naming of our public holidays. But that approach to business – the rigid 9.30-4, Monday-Friday, working hours – no longer fits with customer expectations. While the working hours of every other industry have changed, most banks remain stuck in the past. Which simply isn’t compatible with the on-demand, 24 hour way of life. Customers need to be able to access their money and financial services where and when they want to. Financial organisations need to acknowledge that.
Service
Financial services have always been viewed as above other businesses because they are essential. Previously, people have rarely changed their banks, so the idea of working to secure customer retention has been irrelevant. But things are changing. Technology makes switching between financial services brands easy, which means that businesses need to work harder to keep customers.
So, we’re going to see a breakdown – on one hand, will be the building society that makes itself distinct by thanking customers for their loyalty with an anniversary gift card and personalisation. On the other, the unchanging stalwart, sticking to their guns as the new generation of service users take their businesses to the banks that care.
Values
Values have never been more important to consumers. Growing awareness – thanks, in part, to social media – means that everyone has an opinion, and if a company’s values aren’t on point, the business can suffer. So, while organisations don’t have to jump on every bandwagon, they do have to show genuine support for the ones that they do tie their flag, demonstrating understanding and support throughout the entire culture of their business.
It’s a strange time for financial services, with a lot of indecision around.
The old, traditional businesses that do things the established way are being faced with unforeseen pressure as fintech takes hold. At the moment, everyone still has their place, but as the new generations age and the older generations slowly fall away, if the established financial services brands fail to adapt, their customer base will fall away too. While adopting technology is the first step towards stopping that from happening, without branding to demonstrate that new direction, there could be competition for the incumbents.