Reputation and Branding

Although the bank I work at may now have a very well known “name brand,” it is a good example for me to discuss because I am familiar with our goal image and the things we do to help enforce it. My bank has 10 branches all in the central Illinois area, with our main branch being located in Central Illinois. I will speak about my branch in particular, but the same ideas apply to all of our bank’s branches. We have to compete with other local banks as well as the larger banks in the area. One way that we compete with those banks is through the brand and the reputation that my bank tries to project.

I would say that our brand is a local bank that offers competitive banking services both for businesses and individuals. We work to develop our brand by maintaining the name “First Bank” and the same logo. I actually recently heard my manager and another employee discussing how there was an issue when the branch in Savoy, and then the branch in Champaign opened. The branch in Savoy opened with the name “First Bank of Savoy” and the branch in Champaign opened with the name “First Bank.” The issue my manager was discussing was that people were confused when the Champaign branch opened about whether or not it was the same bank, but by that point it was too late to rebrand the Savoy branch. We also offer the same products at all of our branches and try to embody the same idea of a personal customer service. As a teller, I am supposed to provide excellent service and be able to interact with customers well at the same time that I take care of the banking needs. We are often reminded that our customers need to have our full attention, and that we should never make them feel as if they are interrupting anything that we’re doing. We also focus on having conversation with customers when they come in.

I would say that our reputation is a bank that offers some of the amenities of a larger bank, but still maintains the personal feel of a small local bank. We are able to greet most of our customers by name when they walk in, and we are able to work with everyone personally to set up accounts and other services in ways that meet their specific needs. Even with that small-town feel, we still have a broader range of services such as a range of personal and business checking and savings accounts, and other services such as savings programs, mobile banking, gift cards, and many other things. Our loan department also offers many different personal and corporate loans. These services help us to appeal to customers who want all of those options, but still want to have the small bank feel and atmosphere. Some of the things we are known for that don’t relate directly to our banking services are the dog bones and candy we hand out, the coffee we offer to customers daily, and our popcorn Fridays.

It seems that the difference between branding and reputation is that branding is more so about what services the company provides, whereas a reputation is more about how people perceive the company. The relationship between the brand and the reputation could be that part of a businesses brand is its reputation. I think another way they relate is that a business will try to make its branding goals a part of their reputation. If, as a bank, we try to brand ourselves as a bank with a local feel but larger service offerings, we want our reputation to be that customers feel as if we offer those things that are a part of our brand. I think another main difference is that the company sets the brand, however the customers in a way have a say in determining the reputation, because the reputation is completely dependent on what outside people see and think about the company.