LEADING BRANDS PROFILE
Commercial Bank
Q: Could you share the bank’s key milestones in its journey?
A: Commercial Bank completed its 100th anniversary in 2020, and is currently the largest private bank in Sri Lanka with a local branch network of 268 and over 900 automated machines islandwide.
There are uncountable milestones in our journey. Some noteworthy mentions include being the only Sri Lankan private bank operating overseas with operations in the Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh; creating digital banking solutions that enrich customer lifestyles; becoming the largest lender to the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector in Sri Lanka; becoming the first bank in Sri Lanka to achieve 100 percent carbon neutral status; being named the Strongest Banking Brand in Sri Lanka; and being the most awarded bank in the country with accolades from prestigious international and local organisations.
We are also humbly proud to have contributed immensely to the country’s economy by serving business customers from the retail, corporate and SME sectors.
Q: What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on brands, in your assessment?
A: The pandemic created a multitude of challenges and opportunities for brands, and marketers involved in brand building.
Many brands across the world faced challenges due to tough operating environments brought about by the pandemic. However, as things settled down, stronger brands have been resilient, faced the pandemic better in the long run and continued building equity with branding efforts remaining steady.
Meanwhile, smaller emerging brands that delivered quality and value for money have strengthened their brand presence.
Q: What role can brand investments play in accelerating business recovery in the prevailing corporate environment?
A: Building a brand and a set of unique brand values is a constant, long-term and strategic process. Investments in strategic brand building do not always yield swift and tangible outcomes but will continuously create brand equity in the long term.
Stronger brands will face challenging conditions better than others due to the loyalty and love for the brand, among consumers and the general public. Therefore, it is prudent to maintain strategic, continuous and deliberate brand building investments especially during challenging times.
Q: How do you infuse technological advancements into your brand?
A: Our vision and mission statements include promoting state-of-the-art cutting-edge technology and digital enhancements; our digital road map is executed with a long-term customer centric vision.
Consumers love a brand when they experience its convenience, trustworthiness and unique benefits.
Commercial Bank offers a full suite of digital banking solutions with an omni-channel online banking app, social media banking and digital payments apps catering to both retail and corporate segments, and automated banking options.
The positive experiences created by these offerings contribute toward building brand equity and loyalty.
Q: How does your brand maintain a consistent image in the prevailing dynamic digital marketing space?
A: The digital and social media landscape has expanded exponentially, presenting immense opportunities and challenges to marketers.
Indeed, the digital space is one of our key advertising mediums. As a century old brand serving a wide cross-section of society while being a pioneer in the digital banking arena, Commercial Bank has to be present on multiple platforms with different messages.
We maintain consistency by sticking to our core values and strict brand guidelines.
With so many avenues and platforms open and available for marketing activities, brand owners should evaluate, analyse and decide what fits a brand best. While addressing different target groups with different messages, our brand image and values remain intact, through diligent monitoring, planning and strategising.
Q: How do you build brand loyalty through experiences?
A: We operate in a heavily regulated sector with almost identical product offerings; service experience is a key differentiator.
The bank aims to provide comprehensive financial services to customers with utmost convenience. An attractive product offering delivered by a professional team with a relationship-based customer service approach will ensure pleasant customer service experiences, and build brand loyalty and equity.
Commercial Bank conducts periodic research on customer satisfaction levels, which has continuously rated it as the best in the sector.
However, this does not make us complacent; we’re constantly monitoring internal customer satisfaction levels to address areas of concern – and enable our teams to deliver customer service excellence.
