How a financial services firm linked brand strength to customer flows
By measuring the brand across three layers — function, credibility and image — and connecting results to actual customer flows, the firm could see where the brand actually drove business and where it only drove awareness.
A Nordic financial services firm perceived their brand as strong — high awareness scores, good placement in traditional brand indices, and positive attitudes in customer surveys. Despite this, the customer base was not growing at the expected rate.
Reflect conducted a brand study that went beyond traditional measurements. Instead of measuring the brand on a single dimension, we used a three-layer model: functional attributes (products, terms, accessibility), credibility attributes (expertise, transparency, stability) and image attributes (modernity, innovation, values).
The analysis revealed a gap: the brand was strong on image and awareness, but weaker on the functional attributes that actually drove choice of financial partner. Competitors had lower overall brand awareness but stronger connection between brand and the attributes that drove active switching of engagement.
The decisive insight came when brand data was connected to actual customer flows. The driver analysis showed that the attributes the firm communicated most — innovation and modernity — had minimal impact on conversion. The attributes that actually drove switching — personal advisory and transparency in terms — were barely communicated at all.
Results were delivered as a prioritization matrix showing the ROI potential of shifting communication focus, with estimated effects per segment and channel.
Key takeaways
- High awareness is not the same as brand strength that drives business
- Three-layer model revealed gap between image and functional drivers
- Communication focus did not match the attributes that drove conversion
- Customer flow linkage showed where the brand actually influenced choice