Neil English, head of marketing delivery and effectiveness at RBS, discusses supporting customer ambitions through a challenging economic landscape. Victoria Clarke reports
It’s not often the finance sector is willing to open up to the national media – especially given the continuing turbulent economy. So when the opportunity presents itself to interview one of RBS’ heads of marketing, it’s one not to be missed.
Contrary to the institutional, corporate vibes of the RBS offices, Neil English, head of marketing delivery and effectiveness, is relaxed and easy going. During introductions he explains his (lengthy sounding) job title involves creating strategic plans and activities, and delivering them across the division; engaging with various areas from small businesses to the big multimillion international turnover companies.
“The banking business defines what our marketing requirements are in terms of meeting its business objectives. It’s then my team’s job to take that away and make it real in terms of proposition and creative output – whether that’s an ad campaign, direct mailer or online activity,” he says.
English is a seasoned campaigner when it comes to marketing in the financial services sector. Although it was never his intention to focus a career here, it is where all of his previous marketing roles have lead him.
“If you can market financial services,” says English, “you can pretty much market anything. It’s one of the least glamorous things ever. But as a result – the most challenging. Being able to show the benefit to the customer and then generate a response is something I really enjoy.”
Perfecting the proposition
English has been in his current role for just under two years – a result of an internal restructure and the creation of a new marketing team that he helped to plan and now heads up. His role and new team are evidence of the way RBS is evolving to meet current – and hopefully future – challenges; attempting to align what the brand can deliver with its customers’ ever-changing needs and generally being seen as more proactive. But it hasn’t been an easy task. English says that despite RBS being number one for business banking for the last two years, since more competitors have entered the market place (with deeper pockets than RBS), the brand has had to make sure its propositions are “absolutely spot on.”
English reveals, “Pre-recession, there was a broad mix of customer requirements and activity (for example borrowing, depositing – or both). There was more focus on growth and risk-taking to expand businesses. But over the last few years people, understandbly, often want to take a safer route or sit on what they’ve got and build a deposit base or buffer. The demand to borrow has lessened and so we’ve changed our product mix to accommodate this climate. It’s about developing a relationship approach that addresses the changing customer needs.”
Attempting to meet the needs of this evolving customer base has come in the form of RBS’ ‘Ahead for business’ campaign. Launched in May last year, the ongoing integrated campaign (which includes a branded route master bus touring the UK) aims to communicate how the brand has improved its services – making business transactions more time efficient, supporting businesses’ ambitions and delivering financial advice and expertise.
The brand’s second major activity revolves around its new fixed lending solution – an offer driven directly by its customers wanting more certainty over borrowing. English admits, “There’s always the challenge that we need to lend more to businesses but businesses don’t necessarily want to borrow. There’s still a lot of nervousness around the market.”
He adds, “It’s about continuing to show customers that we’re there when they’re ready. You can’t force people to borrow. We need to show we have the support and funds available for when customers need them and will provide tailored support and services based on each customer or client business’ merits and needs. A loan isn’t always the right solution for a customer looking to update or grow their business and by better understanding our customers, we can look to find the right answer for them.”
Sporting mentality
Engaging this audience involves multiple channels, in particular, direct mail is proving especially successful at cutting through inbox overload. Social media marketing, on the other hand, is less developed with English remaining sceptical about its use. He says, “There’s still a need to define not just how social media can work for RBS but across all banking institutions. There’s no clear example from a banking perspective, either in the UK or internationally, to show social media absolutely works as an effective tool for building dialogue with customers.”
Where English does advocate the use of social media, however, is in its use as an internal channel to aid collaboration. In particular, he says, it’s also a valuable tool for colleagues to express concerns or ideas during challenging economic times, which ultimately helps to support and retain a talented workforce.
There’s no doubt about it that anyone marketing within the financial services sector at the moment is going to have their work cut out for them, and English is no exception. No matter how good the brand proposition is, it’s a tough climate that requires a highly focused approach. Lucky for RBS then, that English was a keen sportsman in his former years.
The marketer reveals he was an excellent swimmer and, in another life, would love to have pursued an aquatic career. But the legacy of this dream has manifested itself in a number of crucial business skills, such as competitive drive, unyielding commitment and tenacious team spirit. Traits that will no doubt help English lead RBS ahead of the competition.
English’s top tips on aligning brand proposition with customer needs
1. Use research to understand what customers’ and prospects’ current perceptions of your brand proposition are. Do they align with your own perceptions?
2. Regularly reaffirm what customers want, expect or need from your business. Ensure your proposition is succinctly focused around this, so customers can quickly see what you can offer them.
3. If there is a need to change your proposition, try to accentuate and build on the strongest/positive elements as perceived by your customers so that any changes are accepted more quickly.
4. If a more significant change in proposition is required, the more you support this with a good level of marketing and communication over an extended period, the more likely customers will accept a major change.
5. Always test/research any changes to your proposition before launch to ensure the output doesn’t lose sight of your initial objectives.
