THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING TO

The recent rise in the numbers of high net worth and high net income individuals andderegulation, globalisation and information access has driven the rapid growth in privatebanking in South Africa. Competition is fierce and differentiation on the basis ofinnovation and price only deliver short term advantages. It is envisaged that brands willplay an increasingly important role in distinguishing private banks as customers becomemore discriminating and demanding.This study aims to better understand the importance of branding from a potential andexisting client perspective and develop a series of recommendations for business andbrand managers in private banks to successfully build their brands.A qualitative study was undertaken and in-depth interviews were employed to uncoverclient’s perceptions of private banking and understand the importance of the brandrelative to other key attributes.The overall finding is that brand is as important as attributes such as the productoffering, the additional benefits and access to information. Clients want to associatewith a private bank and want to be treated as individuals. They want to feel special andrecognised and they want private banks to be more proactive in terms of addressingtheir needs. Private Bank employees have considerable influence on the perception ofthe brand. It appears that Private Banks have a way to go when it comes to branding.