The Business Question:

A regional bank wanted to assess its current market position relative to its competitors and identify opportunities to differentiate the bank in the market.

The business question was clear: How does a regional bank understand where it truly stands in the market, what customers actually value in a banking relationship, and where the opportunity lies to build a positioning that sets it apart from the competition? 

The Approach: 

To understand both where the bank stood and where it could go, MDRG recommended a mixed-methods approach that combined the depth of qualitative exploration with the measurable scale of quantitative research.

First, we conducted qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) with financial decision makers at small and commercial businesses to explore:

• Awareness and perceptions of the bank and its competitors
• Attitudes, satisfaction, and loyalty across the competitive landscape
• Service expectations across key dimensions: community commitment, convenience, customer service and banker relationships, technology and innovation, and lending and investments
• Measure awareness of banks, banking products, and key attributes
• Identify primary banking relationships and assess performance across attributes
• Measure overall satisfaction, favorability, and customer loyalty to the bank and its competitors

Then, we fielded a quantitative survey with both employees and consumers to:

• Measure awareness of banks, banking products, and key attributes
• Identify primary banking relationships and assess performance across attributes
• Measure overall satisfaction, favorability, and customer loyalty to the bank and its competitors
  

What We Learned:

Qualitative Findings

Banking decisions revolved primarily around convenience (including online and mobile banking) and customer service. A personal relationship with a banker remains highly valued; many participants expressed the need for a true partner who picks up the phone when they call.

The client's bank stood out in this regard. It excelled in accessibility and accountability at all levels of the organization. Technology, however, was a recognized weak point that was undermining the bank's core strength in human connection.

Quantitative Findings

Awareness varied significantly by region. Though credit union and community bank customers typically show stronger satisfaction and emotional connection than those at larger institutions, the client bank was the exception. Its customers looked and felt more like community bank customers, pointing to a clear opportunity: deliver the trust of a small institution with the resources of a large one.

Employees rated the bank highest on integrity, trustworthiness, and customer service, but below average on 'knows and understands you,' a potential strength not yet fully activated. Because employees are the ones delivering the positioning, they need to understand the role they personally play in demonstrating it.

What Did We Deliver?

MDRG delivered a full insights report spanning both research phases, including:

• A competitive landscape analysis of awareness, favorability, and loyalty metrics
• Qualitative themes on customer expectations and relationship drivers
• A consumer ratings analysis across key banking attributes, benchmarked against competitors
• A positioning opportunity framework built around the four attributes most important to consumers and most aligned with the bank's strengths

Those four attributes, which ranked highest across both research methods, formed the foundation of a positioning strategy centered on:

• High standards of honesty and integrity
• Trustworthiness
• Knowing and understanding the customer
• Excellent customer service

How Did It All Come Together?

The research gave the bank a clear, evidence-backed path forward. With a positioning rooted in what customers value—and what employees were already delivering—the bank launched a new brand identity grounded in the findings.

New marketing and communications campaigns were developed to bring the four top attributes to life, shifting the brand's voice from transactional to relational.

MDRG's mixed-methods research approach can help you move past assumptions and into the positioning your customers are already waiting for.

Ready to understand where your brand stands and where it could go? Contact MDRG today or set up a call with Kristy Roldan to hear more about MDRG’s capabilities.