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Senior Management Provides the Impetus
Defining and building a financial institution's brand involves converting its desired image and reputation into memorable experiences that impact consumer perceptions of the institution, says Tom Hershberger, president, Cross Financial Group, Lincoln, Neb.
"Branding is very much a part of niche building, reputation and the general business practices and philosophy of the company," he says.
For Hershberger, the composition of a brand comes down to three elements. "We've got this name, we've got a design [or logo] and we have a message," he says. "Now the message may be what the company has conveyed. It may be what the public has perceived. Or it may be what the press has conveyed."
(Hershberger will conduct a brand-building workshop at the ABA Marketing Conference, Sept. 14-16 in Chicago. For more information, call 1-800-BANKERS.)
Influencing that name, design and message requires aligning a number of bank components. Those components include "the [bank's] staff, advertising, mission, delivery systems, policies and procedures, and simple things like donations and corporate giving," Hershberger says.
But the most important impetus for brand building must come from senior management, he says.
"If you don't have a senior management team ... that provides a clear focus of what your brand is going to be - the business philosophy, the vision for your...